Pilgrimage To The Future
by PsychoSongstress
Summary: He was created by the LoN, and now he has pledged his loyalty to Filia, but what secrets does the Record of L-sama contain inside his many pages? His hidden motivations could prove to be more then they can handle or foresee . . . COMPLETE!
1. Filia? And The Book!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers.

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

**Chapter 1- Filia? And the Book?**

Lina groaned in misery as she climbed up a never-ending stair case. Her current adventure had lead her and her companions to the ancient Temple of the Golden Dragons. They arrived earlier that day by the direction of Filia. She had been reluctant to agree to take them there, but since it was in pursuit of finding information on finding a cure for Zelgadis, she eventually gave in. Lina of course followed, because it was the right thing to do. It had nothing to do with the treasure and gold that would be found in the temple. Not at all.

So of course if Lina was there, Gourry was right behind her. He was now trying to get use to his new sword since the events of Darkstar a year ago. Behind him was Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, and to everyone's annoyance; Xelloss.

The priest had joined up with the group along the way, though Lina had a sneaking suspoion that the trickster priest had been following them longer than that. And since nobody really could make him go away, they just tried to ignore him to the best of their ability's. 

Zelgadis silently appraised the architecture inside the temple since he had not really gotten a good look at it during his previous stay, as he felt anticipation of finding his cure. He had come to Miss Filia two weeks before, and asked her to guide them to the temple. But know he was worried that it could have all been in vain. Many times he felt he was close to his answers, to only find horror and disappointment at the end.

"How much farther is it Filia? Humans can't waste years climbing ridiculous stairs!" Lina whined as she trotted up the stairs unmotivated.

"Not much farther now Miss Lina, we only have ten more flights to go." Filia replied in a voice that sounded reassuring.

Lina cried out and screamed, "Oh forget this! Levitation!"

"Miss Lina-" Filia began to shout as Lina began to fly up the stairs, to quickly be joined by Zel and Amelia.

"Hey Linaaaaaaaaaaa! Don't forget me!" Gourry called after her in a dead run as he chased the impatient sorcerers.

"Oh Honestly!"shouted Filia in irritation as she watched them move along. Then felt a pair of closed eyes watching her. She turned to see Xelloss had not joined the others and for some reason waited on her. She gave him a glare to prove that she didn't like the fact that he was present but he seemed to ignore it completely.

"Well shall we Continue together?" asked Xelloss cheerfully. Filia's Tail popped out in anger and phased to the top of the stairs without answering him.

'Gosh! The nerve of that guy!' Filia thought angerly as she reappeared at the top floor. She really couldn't stand him.

Lina and the others were already waiting on her, and appeared to be trying to open a rather large door. I

"Maybe you have to be a dragon to open it?" Gourry said scratching his head after trying to open the door.

"You're correct." Xelloss replied appearing behind Filia. "Fi-Chan, why don't you do the honor?" He asked in a voice so sweet she thought for sure she would puke.

"When you say it like that I'm considering not." She snapped back at him with distain. When she walked over to the door she placed her left hand of the cool surface, and began to be surrounded by a golden light that caused the door to slowly open.

Inside the room were many rows of books, and lots of treasure. Lina ran around like she had found her own personal heaven, as Filia and Zel walked over to the books.

"There has to be something here to help you Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia stated confidently, as she looked over many of the books. As she continued to look at the spines of the books her face fell, "I can't read this language."

"It appears most of these books are written in the lost dragon language." Xelloss stated aloud.

"Good thing you can't read it then, I wouldn't want the secrets of the dragon race to fall in the hands of an evil, nasal voiced monster like you anyway." Filia shouted to him from another row of books causing Xelloss eye to twitch.

"Hey this book has pictures!" Gourry shouted as he tried to examine the book. Lina walked over toward him, her pack filled to the brim. "Whatcha got there Gourry?"

As soon as Lina looked at the book her face went beet red, then pale green.

"What is it?" Filia asked walking over to them. She looked at the book and her face flushed as she grabbed the book franticly, then quickly flung it to the other corner of the room. This was pointless because Xelloss phased over there and picked it up anyway.

"Oh my" He giggled gleefully as he looked through the pages. Filia's became as red as Lina's hair as she turned to search more trying to ignore Xelloss.

"So this is how dragons breed, I was always curious Filia." He chortled following her around flipping through the pages. He stopped on a page and smiled really big, "This looks fun," he stated holding the book open for her to see showing a picture of two dragons in human form in a smutty conjunction. "Interested in trying it out?"

Flames of anger and embarrassment flared up as Filia lifted up her skirt and pulled out Mace-sama and swung at Xelloss. He laughed as he easily avoided her swipes, and the louder he laughed the angrier she became. As she put all of her strength in on final swing, and missed, her mace made contact with a bookshelf, which took out the next six.

"Xelloss!" she shouted angrily looking for the Mazoku she felt was responsible. He was sitting on top of a bookshelf that was still standing looking down at her grinning madly.

"Hey Filia, what is that?" shouted Lina from across the room pointing to something behind Filia. Filia turned around and stared at a really old looking book that was floating behind her. She took a couple steps away from it.

"It seems to be giving off Mazoku energy." Filia said looking at it hesitantly.

"I've always thought books were evil." Gourry said in fear as he stared transfixed on the floating novel, causing Lina smacked her face.

"For some reason, that doesn't surprise me Gourry." Zelgadis replied shaking his head.

"Filia Ul Copt." A tenor voice projected from the book, almost as a question. Everyone stared at the book then to Filia, who looked as shock as the rest.

"Y-Yes?"

Suddenly a black energy rapidly shot from the book and engulfed her.

"Filia!" Lina Shouted, in a panic as the gold was completely covered in the miasma. She shouted "Fireball" pointing it at the book.

Lina's Fireball was reflected by a barrier that was put up from the book. Amelia tried using another spell on the book, which was also deflected. "Miss Filia!" The princess shouted trying to get the Gold's attention.

Xelloss frowned as he landed by the demonic miasma and tapped the air around Filia, but his staff was deflected.

"_Filia Ul Copt." The book spoke to Filia's mind. _

"_Y-Yes?" She replied._

"_Filia, What a honor, I have wanted to speak to you for such a long time." _

"_Um, aren't you a book." She said not knowing what else to say._

"_Yes, I am a Mazoku forever to reside in this book." _

"_What do you want with me?" Filia asked confused in here hazy trance._

"_Dear Filia," the book said mysteriously, "I was made for you." _

"_I don't understand." She replied quietly._

"_I was created by the great Lord of Nightmares as her record. I contain information that L-sama has entrusted me pertaining to the Dragon and Monster race." The voice stated._

_Filia shivered. "If what you say's is true then you are a very valuable book."_

"_Filia Ul Copt, Bind yourself to me as my master, who I have been created for, and together we could do great things." _

"_What kind of things?"_

"_I have witnessed the future, present, and past. Miss Filia, after you have bound yourself to me and we create the link, you will bring the Monster race and Dragon race to their true intended destination." _

"_But you're a Mazoku, how do I not know your trying to trick me?"_

"_Miss Filia, My word is all I have, there are so many things I can teach you, if you let me." It said softly. _

"_How?" _

"_Simply say, I bind myself to Nexus, to forever be his master."_

"_Nexus?"_

"_Yes Miss Filia?" He asked excitedly._

"_That is your name?" _

"_In this form it is." He stated. "Now, I Nexus, wish to be bound to Filia Ul Copt, to forever be in her service."_

"Nothing will work!" shouted Zelgadis dropping a bag of rocks and a dead fish on the ground.

"It was a ingenious plan though Mr. Zelgadis." Encouraged Amelia giving him moral support.

"Is it harmful for her to be in all that miasma?" Lina asked Xelloss.

"I do not feel a decrease in her life force, but that could change over time." He stated staring at the suspended dragon in the air by the Mazoku force.

"If only I had my sword of light." Gourry said regretfully.

"No I do not think that would have helped Gourry," Lina consulted. "It could have harmed Filia."

Then a bright light shot from Filia, encasing her and the book in a brilliant flash. When the light subsided, Filia stood there holding the book. Slowly she opened her eyes.

"Filia! What the Hellmaster Phibrizzo happened?" Lina shouted at the Dragon.

"I-" she started, looking down at the book, then back to her companions, "I'm not completely sure." As she looked around slightly dazed.

"Filia, what is that?" Xelloss asked in a menacing tone staring at the book in her grasp.

"Well it's not a Clair Bible if that's what you are wondering." She spat, holding the book tightly to her chest.

"That Book filled you with demonic energy Miss Filia, Therefore it must be EVIL!" shouted Amelia as she pointed at the book in the dragons grasp.

"I am neither evil, nor good."

"Nexus?" Filia looked down confused.

"It talks?" Gourry shouted looking down at the book scared in a panic.

"If I wish to be heard. I can chose who I want to hear me, which of course my master can always hear me." Nexus replied.

"Your master?" Zelgadis asked perplexed.

"Would someone tell me what is going on?" asked Xelloss ask smiling.

"Being specific in this scenario might help." Lina pressed to the Monster as she crossed her arms.

"He is probably referring to the inability to hear me." Nexus replied in aversion.

"Why can't Xelloss hear you?" Filia asked the book.

"Simple, I don't want him to." The book stated.

"Mr. Nexus, why would that be?" asked Amelia looking up at the book Filia held.

"I just don't like him." Nexus stated. Filia giggled, "Well that's one thing we have in common."

"Filia," Lina Began, "What is the deal with that book?"

"Nexus, states that he was the great L-sama's record." She began, "He holds information about the dragon and monster race." She explained.

"Does he?" Xelloss said in a false chipper voice. "Maybe you would let me see it then?"

"I am not stupid Xelloss; I know you would try to destroy him." Filia defended.

"No Filia, Give me to Xelloss." The booked said to her mysteriously.

Filia raised an eyebrow then slowly handed the book out to Xelloss. Xelloss threw the book on the ground and summoned a powerful attack on the book where the book laid undamaged. Nexus laughed darkly, rising to Xelloss eye level.

"You cannot destroy me." It taunted, "No matter how powerful you are, Xelloss" He said rudely and then floated back in to Filia's clutches.

"What a smart mouthed book." Xelloss grinned tightly.

"Why don't you prove you have knowledge of the monster and Dragon race?" Zelgadis asked.

"Yeah, what is one of the monsters' most kept secrets?" Filia asked.

"Filia-" Xelloss stated sharply. "You are treading dangerous ground right now."

"Ignore him Filia," Nexus said to only her, "As long as I am with you, nobody could harm you."

Filia looked up at Xelloss, "Well there is only one way to prove his claim."

"I will only tell Filia, then she can choose to do what she wants with the information." Nexus spoke out.

Filia looked at the book expectantly. "So-"

"What I will tell you Filia, is the truth of how monsters are created. Since Xelloss has learned of your race's mating rituals." Nexus said to only her.

Filia's face was filled with shock, and slowly nodded her head.

"Monsters can be created three ways. First is the most know way, a high level Monster can create a new monster with a part of their soul, like your dear friend Xelloss, then there is turning an already existing creature in to a monster, by killing it and having it reborn as a Mazoku."

Filia nodded her head, "Yes I knew that already."

"The last is a very well kept secret. A Mazoku can control everything that goes on in there corporeal body, including being able to produce what is necessary to create a baby."

Filia gasped loudly, killing everyone in the room with curiosity. "Are you serious?" she said shocked.

"Yes, and if you wish to say anything to me that you do not want your less worthy comrades to hear, namely a nosy monster, you can communicate with me mentally."

"_Monsters are capable of having babies?"_

"_Yes Filia, it is one of our most keep secrets."_

"_Then why isn't there a bunch of toddler terrors running around?" _

"_Isn't all children terrors?"_

"_Not my Val!" Filia thought with pride._

"_Ah, Val, how old is he now?"_

"_He has not hatched, I left him with Jillias and Gravos, but how did you-"_

"_Remember Miss Filia, I've seen the future."_

"_So then why?" Filia asked._

"_Because no monster has been able to, they would have to put a lot of work into making it. It is almost like creating a monster. One has to sacrifice part of their astral body to create the child and the other has to be of another race, for the baby to be able to develop."_

"_I see. Wow."_

"Well, Filia, what deep dark secret of the Monster race has the scary book told you?" asked Xelloss his bright smile fading.

"Well," Filia said, raising her finger to her mouth, "That is a secret."

"Perhaps Nexus can answer the question we came here to seek?" Zelgadis asked, interrupting the squabble.

"Hey, that's a good idea, Nexus, do you know of a way to return Zelgadis to his human state?" Filia asked.

"I am filled with information of monsters and Gods, therefore I do not have the knowledge you seek."

Zelgadis sighed in disgust, "Should have figured."

"But you said you have been to the future, perhaps there is a way in the future?" Filia asked.

"Hmm, that would be rather convenient."The book said mysteriously. "Master, would you like to join me on a pilgrimage?" Nexus asked.

"To where?" Filia asked curiously.

"To-" Nexus said dramatically, "The Future!"

"That is impossible." Xelloss said merrily.

"Would you bet on those words Xelloss?" Nexus asked.

"I'm not a betting man." Xelloss grinned.

"I am not so sure about this." Amelia stated looking at the book wearily.

"I could take us over 900 years in to the future where we can observe my mistress. I recall an event where something could be a cure for Mr. Zelgadis, Would this please you Miss Filia?" The book asked.

Filia thought about this for a few moments, and then asked, "Just to observe, we couldn't get hurt could we?"

"We will only be sending our conscious to the future realm; we will not be seen or heard."

"Hold on a minute," Lina intervened, "Are you saying we will be transported in to the future, where we will all no longer be around."

"That is correct."

"Gourry you know what this means."

"Our lifelong ambition." He stated proudly.

"You have an ambition?" Zelgadis questioned.

"Of course." Lina said brazenly, and nodded to her companion. "To eat the food of the future!" they said in unison.

"Filia, are you sure you should trust this book?" Xelloss asked darkly while looking over the dragon.

"More then you, Pain-eater" she snapped.

Xelloss looked at Lina and mouthed pain-eater questionably, Lina just shrugged.

"Alright, I will now be taking us to-" Nexus said dramatically, "the Future."

Xelloss rolled his eyes, and Gourry looked at the book in fear. Lina braced herself as Amelia grabbed a hold of Zelgadis arm.

The book in Filia's hands began to flood Miasma and engulfed everyone in a sea of demon energy. Then they were gone.


	2. I Can't Wrap My Head Around This!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. An if I did It wouldn't be as AWESOME!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 2- I Can't Wrap My Head Around This? **

Filia felt the air around her become warmer, and she slowly opened her eyes. The view around her was breath taking. They were now in a wide open beach, with a forest to the right of them. Nothing looked as it shouldn't.

"Are you sure we are in the future?" Amelia asked uncertain as she stared at her hands and noticed they were translucent.

"Well we defiantly aren't in the temple, or anywhere I recognize." Filia replied.

"What is going on here?" Lina asked as she looked around.

Gourry noticed a sword sticking in the sand up a head of them, and started to walk toward it. But when he tried to go any farther, he got bouced back.

"Gourry!" Lina yelled in surprise as he fell back on to his butt.

"What happened?" Filia asked curiously as she looked at the fallen swordsman.

"We are all inside a barrier, we cannot wander apart." Nexus said. "We wouldn't want to get lost from each other would we?" He said calmly. "I would like to keep things as safe as possible."

Filia looked around then her eyes fell on Xelloss and she felt a pang of fear as she stared in to his open eyes, as they glared down at the book in her hand.

"If safety was your main priority, you have seemed to fail in an outstanding fashion." He stated coldly. "Where you have brought us, nobody but myself is safe."

"You're forgetting Xelly; we cannot be seen or heard." The book replied in a false cheerful tone.

"That has yet to be seen."

"Didn't you say were going to observe your mistress?" Amelia asked.

"That is correct." Nexus replied to her.

"So where is she?" asked Lina asked as she looked around the beach, but saw no one.

"Above you."

They all looked up and saw nothing.

"I don't-" Filia began to protest, until she saw the outline of two great beasts far off in to the distance battling.

"What is that?" Gourry asked as he raised his hand to his eyes trying to block out the sun that was in his way of having a clear view.

_The Larger beast battling came closer to the group, which appeared to be a great wolf like creature with wings and following it was …._

"Filia?" Zelgadis said in awe looking out at the golden dragon that was in combat with the beast.

"That is me!" she shouted, as she recognized herself in her true form.

"Who are you fighting?" Gourry asked watching the fight.

"She is fighting The Greater Beastmaster Zelas." Nexus replied to there unanswered questions.

"What!" Shouted Filia and Lina in horror. Lina turned to look at Xelloss who was watching the fight that was underway.

"Well, It's not like I didn't expect this to ever happen,-" He said in a serious tone. "But I assumed I would be the one to finish her off." He said dissatisfied. Filia looked at him in horror, unable to snap a comment back at the Mazoku. She turned to watch the fight like the others.

_The two beasts were clawing each other with their talons and snapping at each other with their snouts; both sides seem to be taking damage. Filia Shot a Laser Breath at Zelas who easily avoid the attack, and dived toward Filia, slashing her across the left shoulder blade, causing the dragon to cry out in pain. _

_As Filia was crying out, Zelas shot a blast of magic, right at her left wing, crippling her, Filia plummeted toward the ground._

"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Lina looking concerned.

"No." Nexus stated, "Logically we are not here, physically, we are not here."

"So we came here to see Filia die? This is too cruel." Amelia cried out in horror.

_Filia fell toward the ground, near the sword that was stuck in the ground. Before she landed, her body began to glow golden, and then morphed in to a woman, and fell to the sand in a burst of light. _

_Zelas floated above watching._

_Filia was only a couple of meters away from the group, and when the light faded, she had her back to them, her upper left shoulder bloody and bruised. She walked over and picked up the sword with her right hand. She wore grey boots that came to her knee, with a high heel._

_Under her boots she had a pair of violet tights that went up to under her butt, and a pair of short white shorts. She had a tight fitted top that should off a large amount of clevage, and worn bronze armor. Her long golden hair was in a high pony tail that was braided down and held in a deep purple bow. _

_Filia began to releasing light energy that began to engulfed around her sword._

"It's like a sword of light." Gourry Commented slightly heartbroken.

"Filia, you look-" Lina said blushing, "Different."

Filia was blushing looking at her future self, "This has to be a mistake, I would never dress so-"

"Oh My Filia," Xelloss laughed tauntingly, "I never knew you had it in you."

_Zelas charged down toward Filia, and as she descended she became surrounded by a black energy. Slowly she transformed in to the shape of a woman, then landed in front of Filia and swiftly began her assault. The two began to rapidly clash steel. Then Zelas quickly stabbed Filia though her middle, causing her to fall to her knees choking out blood on to Zelas Sword. _

"_That was relatively easy." Zelas said coldly looking down at Filia with her golden eyes._

_Filia glared up at her, blue eyes blazing. Then with a burst of newly found energy she rose and swiftly slashed her light sword at Zelas._

The slayers all looked in horrified shock, as Zelas astral body was ripped in half.

_Zelas phased away leaving Filia alone coughing up blood. Slowly she fell to her knees panting hard. _

"Could I perform a recovery on her?" Amelia asked fearful as she looked over the injured dragon.

"You cannot perform any magic while in this barrier." Nexus replied.

"_Done now Filia?" came a low voice. _

Everyone turned to see a tall man walking toward future Filia. He was tall with dark hair and green eyes. His hair was spiked and had a look of seriousness.

"He is very handsome, do you know who he is Miss Filia?" Amelia asked curiously as she eyed the tall stranger.

"No I don't." Filia said confused looking over the man trying to spark a memory out of her brain.

"_Recovery." The man shouted over Filia, healing her wound. He lifted her up by her good arm and inspected her left shoulder blade._

"_You are going to have to wait and have him heal this, do it soon or your wing will be crippled." He said darkly, with his deep husky voice. _

"_I understand that Daemon." Future Filia said as he released her arm. She seemed slightly shaken as she turned and began to walk toward the forest along the beach. _

"That is our cue to start moving Miss Filia." Nexus said, motivating the group follow behind.

"So did Filia kill Beastmaster?" Lina wondered out loud.

"Hardly." Xelloss stated firmly. "Though I find it an amazing feat that she damaged her." He said bitterly.

"Maybe I killed you already." She said bitterly back.

"We can only Hope" he replied happily.

"What do you have to hope for exactly?" she asked hotly.

"World peace." He replied humming.

"Mr. Xelloss you should not Joke about that." Amelia whined disapprovingly. "World peace is not a laughing matter. "

"Wait, so if we are following Filia, that means she is your master?" Gourry asked suddenly.

"That is correct."

"Filia-" Lina asked looking at the dragon suspiciously, "Did you bind yourself to this monster?"

Filia's face slightly flushed, without saying anything.

"Oh, Filia?" Xelloss inquired.

"Miss Filia! Monsters are evil! Allying yourself to one makes you a pawn of evil!" Amelia shouted in horror as she looked up at Filia's stressed face.

"Oh?" Xelloss smiled at Amelia, causing her to blanch. "Of course sometimes it is in pursuit of justice!" She reasoned.

"My Master is no pawn." Nexus replied simply.

"I would rather you just call me Filia." Filia replied worrisome.

There was a silence then Nexus replied, "Of course," he paused, "Filia."

"You never did tell us what the deep secret of the monster race was." Zelgadis stated.

"Yeah, you shouldn't with hold information like that." Lina urged.

Xelloss was curious as well and decided perhaps his silence wouldn't remind her of his presence, therefore making her more likely to tell, though he was wrong.

"It's nothing important, beside, I want to be responsible with the information I have." She replied.

"Yeah, is that why you're fighting Greater Beastmaster in the future," Lina replied smugly.

They continued to follow Filia and the tall man through a large forest. The Filia of the future's shoulder was looking really bad, as dark purple and black bruises formed.

They continued to walk following the unknown man and future Filia in silence.

"Xelloss, you said that you know where we are right?" Filia asked moments later breaking the silence.

"Yes." He replied to her curiously as he looked down at her with closed eyes.

Her eyebrow twitched in irritation. "And?"

"It's obvious Filia." He Replied grinning at her. "It's a secret."

Filia huffed in anger, taking longer strides following her future counterpart.

"Filia, we are on Wolfpack Island." Nexus answered her ruining Xelloss fun.

"We are?" Lina shouted in excitement as she looked around and noticed the forest thinning. When they finally stepped out of the leafy thicket, there was a large castle that sat on a large cliff that looked over the sandy beach. It was a rather old looking structure, but it was magnificently built. It looked like it had withstood a lot, and would continue to do so for many years.

"Amazing." Zelgadis said in awe as he looked at the large castle.

"It's so grand." Amelia agreed.

"I am assuming that is Greater Beastmaster Zelas home, am I right Xelloss?" Lina asked the silent priest.

"This is my master's home, at least it is in our present time, and you never know what can change in the future." He replied as they began to walk up a large flight of the stairs that lead to the entrance of the palace.

"Are you kidding me? What is it with you Monsters and Dragons and frickin' stairs?" Lina complained loudly as the continued to climb.

"I think we should get closer, if you want to hear what they are talking about." Zelgadis suggested unable to hear the conversation between the two ahead.

They all got closer to Filia and found that she was now arguing with her companion.

"_You're still not fighting with your Dragon instincts." He replied to something she had said before. "You are used to fighting in your human form; she knows that is your weakness."_

"_Daemon, do you not think I realize this." She replied. Her voice was not as high as the Filia they knew; it was a deeper, more mature tone. "Besides you fight when you are in your human form more than not."_

"_I am a better fighter when I am in this form." He stated as he continued up the stairs behind her._

_Filia closed her eyes and must have decided to ignore the man she was with. When they reached the top of the stairs, a young looking woman was standing beside a very large pair of doors, with the look of pure boredom._

"Oh?" Xelloss voiced curiously as he looked at her.

_The Girl was short, with a layered bob, that was jet black, and haunting grey eye. It was obvious the girl was a Mazoku. _

"_Back so soon?' she asked lazily. _

"_Yes Salvia, please open the door." Daemon said to her kindly. She only came to his waist, and looked up at him with a bored look. "Sure." She replied simply, and then opened the door._

"How interesting?" Xelloss wondered out loud. Lina looked at him confused, and he decided to answer her before she asked. "Salvia is one of Beastmaster's subordinates. She is the gate keeper." He stated.

"It seems that Zelas still lives here, and now Filia and the Dragon she travels with are welcomed inside. Oh how very curious." He said grinning cheerfully as they followed them inside.

"This place looks different, but mostly all the same, a few additions of course." Xelloss spoke out loud looking at future Filia and Daemon.

"Well that is what happens over time, you gain stuff." Nexus replied to him annoyed.

"_Filia,-" Daemon addressed the Gold, "Do you want me to come with you?" _

"_No, I am going to go to my room and clean up for the war council, and then I'm going to go find Val and Odile. I'm not leaving the palace again today." She replied as if she was reassuring him._

"_Ok, but if you do, Sal will let me know." He pointed out before he walked away, as Filia began walking down a long hallway._

"Her room?" Gourry stated, looking around at all the monsters around. "Filia, you live with the Monsters?"

"I would never!" Filia said in confidence as she looked around, pinning it down to be a mistake.

_Filia finally stopped at a large red door, and opened it and walked in. The group followed her as she shut the door. The room was very large; it was decorated in crimson, black, and a deep purple scheme. There was many furnishings and a very large bed to the side of a even larger window that lead out to the veranda._

"This is really cute." Filia examined looking around the room.

"What do YOU think about it Xelloss?" the book asked in a teasing manor.

"It has a couple of additions." He replied stiffly.

"Like the Gold dragon and the bed? Hmmm." The book teased.

"What are you talking about?" Filia asked confused.

"If you were to come to this room in your present time Filly-" The book taunted, "This would be Xelloss room."

"Gah!" Filia shouted feeling appalled, "Why am I in Xelloss room?"

"Why indeed?" Xelloss replied to her grinning. "What trickery could you have pulled on me to invade my own chamber?"

She glared at him for a second until a loud CLANK distracted her; they all turned to see future Filia removing her armor, then her boots. After that she began to pull her tights of her legs, and then began to tug at her white shorts.

"NOOO!" Filia shouted moving to stand in front of herself. "I don't want you all to see me get naked!"

"It's not like we haven't seen it before." Xelloss grinned, earning a sharp panicked glare from Filia. "When you transform I mean." He added giggling.

Filia's face flushed bright red still standing in front of the future her who was now striping. Eventually her future self walked around her now wearing a dark red dress with a black bow tied around her hair. Her long legs were now bare, coming out of the bottom of the very short dress, which stopping high above her knees. She slowly sat down gently on the large bed pulling up grey tights that were like the ones she had on before.

Her dress was backless, and was held up by the neck, by a black bow. Filia looked at herself in awe.

"I would never wear anything like that!" she shouted embarrassed.

"Miss Filia, you look very classy." Amelia stated.

_Filia finished putting on her leggings and pulled her long hair out of the braid, letting the long golden locks fall to the ground. She ran her fingers through the silky trestles as she walked over to the veranda and opened the Wide glass doors, letting the wind entering her room. _

_She sighed as she looked out at the scene outside her window as the wind moved the hair on her face. Her back was looking very bad, as most of the bruises spread across her shoulder._

"Now that I think about it, we are actually going to need to leave this room." Nexus said breaking the silence.

"Why would that be?" Amelia asked curiously.

"Because of that." He said, as Xelloss suddenly appeared in the room. Everyone looked at him in shock; his face was ageless, looking exactly the same as it did now. The only difference was his clothes. He no longer donned his traveling close, instead he wore a modified version of his usual attire.

Xelloss eyes were open and staring at Filia who's back stiffened and turned her head and saw the intruder.

"Xelloss!" she shouted as she quickly moved toward the monster with her fist clenched.

"Looks like some things never cha-" Lina started but never finished. Everyone stared in horror, as Filia had jumped on to Xelloss wrapping her legs around his waist, both of her hands clutching his hair, and her lips on his.

"And now, if you don't mind,-" Nexus began, transporting them outside the room, "I don't really want to see the rest."


	3. Terrible! Treachery! Oh My Cepheid!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I Do Own a PB&J sandwich!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 3-Terrible? Treachery? Oh My Cepheid?**

"I don't think I will ever recover." Moaned Filia, but nobody could hear her over Xelloss laughter. Everyone had been mortified when they witnessed Filia and Xelloss, but now Filia was so distressed, the emotions were enough to make him high, and he could not stop laughing at the situation.

"Miss Filia!" Amelia said weakly, "You-"

"Don't say anything; I don't think I could live through it." Filia replied faintly, leaning on a table that was sitting outside of the room they were just ejected from. The Hall way was bare for the moment, but Filia felt like she was surrounded by a large crowed, and everyone was laughing at her; but it was only Xelloss.

Lina for once had been speechless, and Zel just didn't care enough to say anything, he was already repressing the memory.

"So does that mean you and Xelloss-" Gourry began, but was silenced by Filia's mace. She began to sob loudly screaming words like "Tainted" "Dishonor" and "Abomination", each time her mace made contact with Gourry's thick skull.

Xelloss laugher slowly died, but after a few moments he release a few held in giggles, until, like a breaking dam, he released a shriek, and fell to his knees in hysteria.

"Yes Xelloss, Hardy-Har-Har." Lina replied, looking at the Mazoku on the floor. Between his laughing and Filia's crying, she had felt like this Pilgrimage has brought nothing but trouble, and she was beginning to feel like it was a sham.

After a few moments of this, Nexus decided to break the silence. "It will be a while before they come out, so I might as well give you a little information, so you are not shocked again."

"Don't you think you should have done that before?" Amelia accused.

"I realize that now, I've never met my mistress before she was with Xelloss, so it is strange for me to see her upset like this."

"With Xelloss?" Lina questioned, "Like "Together" Together?" she asked bluntly.

"Yes." Nexus replied, sounding slightly bitter.

Filia began to cry harder as Xelloss calmed his giggles to make a full sentence.

"This is utter nonsense," He giggled. "This must be some kind of joke; this could never be a reality."

"And why is that Xelloss?" the book demanded.

"There are infinite amount of reasons." He replied, "Monsters only have relations to further their goals or missions. A monster would never be with a person, for longer than needed, and they would NEVER need to be with a dragon, no Monster would ever degrade themselves to that." He stated. "And of course, Monsters can't love." He said as if that settled it.

"When you say they are together, Mr. Nexus, do you mean they are, married?" Amelia asked in fear.

"No they are not married." He replied, causing several to sigh in relief. "-But, they are everything a married couple is." He said.

"No more." Filia whined, "I want this nightmare to end."

Xelloss bent down and whispered in her ear, "What is the matter, dear?"

Filia froze; feeling like her soul left her body, and then began to cry again. This caused Xelloss to resume laughing.

"I do not see what all of this has to do with me finding a way to return human." Zelgadis stated.

"That's right!" Amelia chimed in, "Remember we are here for Mr. Zelgadis."

"Well, the events to come might help, I just wasn't certain of the exact time." Nexus replied.

"So we are just going to wait for something to happen?" Gourry questioned.

"I am sure today is the day I intended to bring you all to." Nexus stated from Filia's arms.

"How long do you plan to keep us here? We have things to do, food to eat." Lina replied irritably.

"Yeah, and I still want to know what happened between Filia and the Beastmaster." Amelia added.

"What a bunch of needy people." Nexus voiced, deciding to give them the information he had been withholding. "Filia, one of the last golden dragons, swore her alliance to Greater Beastmaster over 600 years ago." He began. "Her and Val, both came to Wolfpack Island to live, and help in the War of Severance."

"Wouldn't Filia join the dragons during time of war?" asked Lina.

"Of course I would!" Filia piped in glaring at Nexus.

"Maybe I should explain more fully." Nexus sighed. "The War of Severance started when the Mazoku Domink began to slaughter all of the dragons, and began to imprison all humans, to make them his servents. He was trying to create a world where Monsters ruled openly, without dragon interference. The dragons retaliated by capturing all the remaining humans, and keep them in the dragon temples, and began to destroy all the Monsters."

"How awful." Amelia said.

"At that time, Filia was the one of five Gold Dragons remaining and with a young ancient Dragon under her care; she was one of the most sought after dragon from both sides. During this war, Zelas and almost everyone under her rule were neutral. She sent Xelloss to spy on the ongoing of the war, and that was when he witnessed Filia and Val captured by a Fleet of Dimos dragons."

"I thought Gold dragons were stronger than Dimos Dragons?" Zelgadis wondered out loud.

"Magically yes, but at the time, Filia had been severely weakened, and she was over powered by fifteen of them." Nexus informed him. "So, under his master's orders, Xelloss came to Filia with a proposition. He would free her from the Dimos Dragons, and offer her and Val protection if she would swear her alliance to his master."

"I still don't see Filia doing something like that." Lina said not completely convinced.

"Something you need to remember is that she has me. By that time I had told her a lot of things about both the dragon and monster race. Filia used her judgment and decided on the monsters, or what the monsters were capable of becoming." He replied.

"She began to trade information, for training. Filia began to tell Zelas the things my many pages held, to help move the monsters to what there creator wanted from them, in exchange for training. Filia had realized she was not as strong a fighter she wanted to be, so Zelas began to train her to be a strong warrior. This morning was just one of their many training sessions."

"So Filia is on good terms with Beastmaster Zelas?" Gourry asked in an upbeat tone.

"Yes and No. You see there was something that got in the way of their partnership, it was Xelloss." Nexus said.

"Oh no, here we go." Whined Filia.

"Filia and Xelloss had an on and off attraction, many years before the beginning of the War of Severance. This attraction didn't become clear to either of them until she was captured by the Dimos dragons. Both just assumed it was a physical attraction at the start, but it slowly grew from that. With the information Filia bore from me, and her own personal feelings, it didn't take long for her to realize she was in love with Xelloss."

"That is a Lie!" Filia screamed, "I could never love raw garbage!" she swore.

"What an annoyance to look forward to." Xelloss replied looking like he was going to start laughing again.

"Anyway, it didn't take long for Xelloss to become possessive and obsessive over Filia, and finally he accepted that, he loved her too, in a very loose form of the word."

Xelloss snorted, still grinning, not believing a word the enchanted book spoke.

"And Xelloss belonged to Zelas. In every way. He was her servant, to always be at her beck and call. If Zelas told Xelloss to kill Filia, he would obey." Nexus said ominously, causing Filia to shiver.

"Fortunately, Zelas is very fond of her trickster priest, and for a long while, overlooked Xelloss and Filia's love affair. Until, Xelloss was challenged for treason by Dynast, for being with a Dragon, and was sentenced to destruction."

"What did he do?" Lina asked enthused.

"Requested a trade."

"How very Xelloss Like." Filia snorted, glaring at the grinning Priest.

"So what did Xelloss trade?"

"To keep his life, and Filia, he convinced Dynast to let him and Filia to fuse the Gods and Monsters, and create the greatest ally for the monster race. A hybrid."

"What does that mean?" Gourry asked confused.

"Since Filia and Xelloss were the first known pair of their kind, they never had the possibility of combining a dragon and monster, in the form of a child." He spoke, recalling an ancient memory.

"Wait, are you saying-"

"Xelloss and Filia successively conceived a child sixteen years ago, and after only four years, the Dragon-Monster hybrid hatched."

"No!" Lina shouted, "That is Impossible! Monsters can't have children!"

Filia finally looked up a Xelloss and saw him staring at the book in her hands, his face was unreadable. "Xelloss?" she whispered.

He slowly looked up at her for a second, and then looked away, "It is not impossible, if it is a very high level Mazoku who can have complete control of their human body."

"Wow, how scary." Amelia moaned.

"Yeah the combination of Monsters and Dragons will be a power never seen before." Zelgadis commented.

"No, I was thinking of Filia and Xelloss as parents." Amelia said in horror.

"I am already a parent Miss Amelia." Filia defended herself.

"An unhatched egg doesn't really count." Xelloss chimed.

"Four years for an egg to hatch is a long time." Gourry said thoughtfully.

"It takes seven years for a Golden Dragon to hatch." Filia stated. "Four years is an incredibly short time, was the baby healthy?" she asked motherly.

"Oh yes, perfect health." Nexus replied, "Although the baby had to be taken away from you."

"Why?" Filia asked concerned and enraged.

"The baby was half monster Filia, your happiness and love for the baby became harmful when the baby was exposed to you for long periods of time." Nexus said hesitantly.

"Ohh," Filia said sadly looking at the floor sadly. "I see."

"Of course Val, and Xelloss would care for the young when you couldn't, and after time, you learned to control your emotions better." Nexus comforted her. "In this point of time you can see her whenever you want."

"So what happened with Dynast, did he come take the baby?" Lina asked.

"Since Xelloss is under Zelas, she had all decisions regarding the hybrid, and for the time being, she observes child's progress." Nexus said, as Filia sank to the ground. "How very sad, I don't think I could handle all of that drama with my child."

"You're a very strong woman, and you have incredible trust and respect for Greater Beastmaster Zelas." Nexus said. "Even if she scares you sometimes."

Filia thought this over for a few seconds then finally stood up. "Well, enough history lessons, or whatever you want to call it," she began, ignoring when Xelloss whispered "a bunch of crock." under his breath. "We need to find out what we can to help Mr. Zelgadis."

"And what do you suppose we do; we have to wait here for you to come out of the bed room, since we can't wonder too far away from your future self." Zelgadis pointed out.

"I was wondering about that." Gourry stated, scratching his face. "Why exactly did we need to leave the room?"

For a split second everyone pondered this, until Amelia and Filia blushed furiously, and Lina swayed on her feet and recovered by punching her protector right over the head.

"I don't think we need to be discussing this." Zelgadis insisted.

Xelloss cracked an eye everyone in amusement, enjoying the void of negativity from everyone. What an interesting journey this turned out to be.

Everyone's attention was drawn by a loud squeal from beyond their view, from down the hallway, and abrupt flash of gold darted down the hallway heading right for them. It was a small girl with long golden hair, with a large plum bow tied to her head. The little girl was wearing a puffy orange dress, with white lace. She stopped at the door and reached for the door knob.

"Gah!" Filia gasped in horror, "Please for the love of all that is good and holy, don't ope-"

"Don't open that door!" came a deep voice from the end of the hallway. A man who looked slightly out of breath, trailed after the young girl, his golden cat like eyes locked on to the little girl. He was tall, with teal hair that was held up by a black head band, with pieces hanging around the frame of his face.

"Its Valgaav!" shouted Gourry, looking at the familiar face. The man looked a lot like his monster counterpart, minus the horn and markings on his face. He walked up to the little girl and scooped her up in one arm. The tiny girl squealed in delight.

"_How many times have I told you, if you barge in on Mom and Dad's room, you could get in to a lot of trouble, not to mention interrupt something you never want to see." He said with a shiver, as if he was recalling a horrible memory that wouldn't be repressed._

_The little girl, who had her eyes closed smiling brightly, stuck her tongue out at the ancient dragon, and raised her tiny fist to the door, and swiftly knocked it. After a few seconds the door flew open, and Filia stood there, her long golden hair no longer in the braid, fell to her feet on the floor, her arms wide open staring at the tiny girl._

"_Mommy!" she screamed leaping right out of Val's embrace, leaping in to Filia's waiting arms. She hugged the tiny girl tightly, stepping out of the room, Xelloss following behind her, smiling happily. _

"_Daddy is home!" The girl screamed jumping, next in to Xelloss embrace, who hugged the girl in return. Then Xelloss placed the tiny girl on the floor. The girl opened her eyes to reveal two shards of amethyst eyes looking up at her father in anger. "You were gone for over six week's dad." She accused him, placing her fists on her hips. _

"_Odile, you know your father has work, he told you he would be gone for a while." Filia told the young child smiling brightly. Odile looked at her mother with fire in her eyes. "Well, I hope you punished him so he doesn't think twice about doing it again."_

"_Oh she did, and I learned my lesson well." Xelloss grinned evilly, causing Val to groan in disgust. Filia glared at Xelloss for a second, and then looked back down at the tiny gold. "Odile, why don't you tell your father what you learned last week?" she encouraged the girl, as she began to pull her long hair up in a high ponytail. _

"_Mistress Zelas and I have been practicing traveling to the astral plane." The girl said proudly._

"_That is amazing Odilia!" Xelloss congratulated the little girl as she beamed at him. "That's not all, Mistress told me how powerful Mazoku are the only ones who can appear in this world, and that you have to be really strong to create a human body. So, I decided I would do the opposite!" she claimed._

"_Oh?" Xelloss asked indirectly, looking up at Filia worried. She smiled, but he could feel the fear from her lightly._

"_Yeah, so I decided to create my own demonic form!" she stated loudly._

"_You did." Xelloss said smiling again. "That is an amazing feat, Odilia." _

"_Yeah, Mistress Zelas told me she was very impressed with me, and I modeled myself after you!" she bragged. "When I transform, I look like a large black cyclone, with light energy surrounding me." _

"_Extraordinary." Xelloss said patting the little girl. "Maybe you can show me later."_

"_Dad, can I come with you, mom and Val to the meeting please!" she begged looking up at her father with pleading eyes._

_Xelloss laughed, "Nice try, but I won't be tricked by your adorable face." He said kissing her cheek, walking up to Filia, "Besides, you know Haleron will be in a panic if you're not present for your history lessons." _

"_More like, he would fall asleep and not think twice about it." Val said bitterly, causing Xelloss to grin at him._

_Odile's cheeks puffed up and she clicked her heels together. "I would rather have Val teach me. He is way smarter than Haleron, besides, when he calls me "Oldie" it gets on my nerves! I would rather him just call me Odile or Odilia." She fumed._

_Filia laughed, "Oh-Deal! Or Oh-Deal-E-Ah." She said slowly. "Maybe if you say it slowly he could understand." _

"_I doubt it." Val snickered, grinning down at the little girl who grinned back._

"_Now, now, we don't want to be late, Val, we will see you at the meeting." Xelloss said zestfully, placing his hand on Filia's exposed shoulder, leading her away. "We shall see you later Odilia." He winked at the little girl._

"_Have fun at your meeting!" she shouted back to them and began to skip down the hall as Val followed. When they were out of sight, Xelloss moved Filia's long hair to allow him excess to her bruised back. _

"_You should have let me take care of this first." He said glaring at the purple bruises that spread over her left shoulder blade. He slowly touched it, causing her to wince lightly._

"_If I recall correctly, you were just as enthusiastic as I was." She whispered grinning._

_Xelloss began to concentrate miasma in to his hand, then trailed his gloved hand over her wounded back, slowly healing it, till it looked like there was nothing was ever wrong. "Your wing should be fine, but I think we should check it later just to make sure." He said, releasing her hair, letting if fall down her back. Even in its high ponytail it fell just above her ankles. He placed his hand back around her shoulder and began to lead her down the hallway._

"_You're worried." She said flatly, not even forming the statement as a question. Xelloss answered her, knowing exactly what she was regarding._

"_She is progressing much faster than I ever expected, and you know I don't like things to go the way I don't expect." He said darkly._

"_At least when it's important to you." She smiled up to him. He looked down at her with his eyes open and sighed tiredly, tightening his arm on her pulling her close. _

"Ok. This is too weird." Lina sighed scratching her head in frustration as they began to pursue the disturbing couple. "Since when can monster energy heal?" she asked Xelloss accusingly.

"I've never seen that happen before." He said thoughtfully, appearing to be wondering the same thing.

"Mr. Xelloss!" Amelia said brightly. "Perhaps you'll reform your evil ways and will walk the path of light and Justice!"

"Uh, I don't think that is it Amelia." Zelgadis said, shaking his head.

"Nexus?" Filia questioned, "Is this something that we will learn from you?"

For a second the book was quiet, then replied, "You could have, this is knowledge I contain, but unfortunately, you and Xelloss discover this on your own." He replied, giving everyone something to think about.

"Miss Filia, your daughter is beautiful." Amelia stated, breaking the tense silence.

"Yeah, she is really smart for a little girl!" Gourry stated.

Filia, unable to comment about the future daughter of her and Xelloss, let her eyes wander back on to herself walking next to Xelloss. They looked so natural, as if the differences in race, age, and personality's didn't matter. She silently wondered if such a future was really ahead of her. _Stupid Filia! _Her conscious shouted at her, _he is a monster! He is Xelloss! The murderer of thousands of your race! He is probably tricking you for some great, terrible reason!_

It made since when she thought that, but when she looked at the future Xelloss, she just couldn't force herself to believe it.

Xelloss watched Filia curiously, tasting her emotions trying to figure out what the silly gold was thinking in her little intricate mind. She was staring at the eventual her, and him. He didn't second guess Filia believed what the Mazoku book told her, which slightly annoyed him. As distrusting she was to Mazoku, she didn't hesitate to believe what this book told her.

Up a head, the "Other" Xelloss stopped walking near a large door.

"Oh my," the future Xelloss said with annoyance, "I see you weren't expecting to see me back so soon." He grinned falsely at a monster that was holding the door open. The ageless Mazoku grimaced as he looked at Xelloss, with bored hatred. He had short, spiky dark blue hair, and glossy cobalt eyes that was hidden behind glasses.

The demon looked right past Xelloss and grinned evilly at Filia, "Nothing say's "Today's going to be a great day" Like seeing a Gold dragon covered in red."His tenor voice stated, looking at Filia's crimson dress.

Present and the future Xelloss felt Filia's anger skyrocket as she glared at the insulting monster. "You watch your mouth Kurokei,' she spat, "I won't hesitate to shut you up." She threatened.

Kurokei's grin widened, "Please do." He challenged, in a purr.

Filia stiffened and walked past him ignoring him completely, which couldn't be said for Xelloss. The look he gave him, made the present Filia feel like his gaze was piercing a hole through the monster, causing her to shiver, giving the present Xelloss delight.

"I don't know where you get off thinking you can talk to her, but if you ever say anything suggestive to her again, you know I won't hesitate to end you." He said simply, following Filia through the doors.

Kurokei kept grinning as he followed them inside the council room.


	4. The War Council Of Hell! Literally!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Nor do I own a matching pair of socks. IT'S FRUSTRATING!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 4- The War Council of Hell? Literally?**

It felt extremely strange to Filia to be walking in to a large room of monsters, about to witness a war council. Being a priestess, she never attended them for the dragon race, that was something the supreme elders and there priest dealt with. She looked around the room and noticed there weren't very many people in the room.

"Monsters do like to indulge themselves, don't they Mr. Xelloss." Amelia commented looking around at the luxurious looking room. It was decorated in only white, black, and gray. There was not a table with chairs around it, but a large amount of squishy looking pillows for people to sit on. At the end of the room, Zelas, who astral body was fully healed, sat talking to a man with long dark blue hair that was tied in a braid, and a woman with long elegant raven hair.

"Who-" Filia began to asked before Xelloss interrupted her. "The man is Dynast, and the woman is Deep Sea Dolphin." He replied looking at Zelas confused.

"Is it strange for her to be talking to them?" Filia asked curious to his confusion. Xelloss looked at her, and sighed. "You really don't know anything do you?" he stated. Filia's cheeks flushed in anger and was about to argue with him, but instead decided not to give him the satisfaction of her anger. "Ok wise one, please explain why you're confused Zelas is talking to them." She sneered.

Xelloss eyes narrowed, "Lord Beastmaster,-" He said corrected her sharply, proving that he did not agree to her using Zelas name so casually, "May talk with whoever she likes, it would never seem "strange" to me to see her talk to anyone." He said glaring at Filia. "What I find "Strange", is that Zelas is here to talk to them in to first place."

"Why would that be strange?" Amelia asked as she walked over one off the squashy pillows on the floor, trying to touch it with her foot, but, her intangible foot went right through it. She sighed loudly looking at the pillow, then looked up at Zelgadis with sad eyes. "It looks so comfy."

"It is strange,-" Xelloss said, getting the her attention, "Because it takes about a day for someone as strong as my master to heal her astral body, and it hasn't even been an hour and she is perfectly whole."

"Well maybe she is a lot stronger now." Lina suggested who was also trying to touch one of the pillows, unlike her large, blonde companion who tried to actually sit on it. Gourry smiled brightly and said "It is comfortable Amelia!" then when he looked down and noticed half of his body was missing he cried out, "Ahh! It's eating me!"

"No, that's not it." He said inaudibly. He looked around the room and noticed himself talking to the dragon from earlier. This roused his attention. "Oh, this is odd." He said out loud.

"What is that?" Lina asked, pulling the large, blonde swordsman off the floor.

"A war council, for the Mazoku at least, is usually only attained by the five, or in our time, three subordinate of Lord Ruby Eyes, a general or priest is not present for one unless summoned. It is odd that not only are generals and priest present, but lower Mazoku and dragons are at hand as well."

"Lord Beastmaster had four dragons loyal to her at this present time." Nexus replied to him.

"Four?" Filia asked confused. She looked around the room; she only saw Val, herself and the dragon Daemon that was accounted for the dragon race.

"The fourth one is still quite young, and Lord Zelas, for the time being, keeps him occupied with other task instead of having attended a war meeting." Nexus replied.

Filia continued to look around the large room. To the left of her, her future counterpart was already sitting on a pillow, closer to the back of the room. Beside her was Val, all grown up looking handsome and kind. She smiled to herself happy to see the man had been given a second chance. No one else in the room seemed to be familiar, she glanced around. Her eyes ended up falling on the Mazoku Kurokei, who at the time was staring at her future self, who was unaware, still grinning at her.

"Xelloss?" she asked out loud, "Who is Kurokei?"

Xelloss looked at Kurokei, also noticing his fixed stare on future Filia. "He is a lower Mazoku under Lord Beastmaster's rein. He is in charge of gathering information of humans, and researching things for her. He's a bit of a book worm actually." He said quietly.

"This is boring!" Lina began to whine, "Were not learning anything, I want to go home, I want to eat, I want to beat something up!"

"I am quite sure the reason for this journey will reveal it's self during this meeting." Nexus replied. Filia walked close to where her future self was talking to Val and sat down on the floor. Even though her body didn't need to be sitting, if felt more appropriate. Everyone followed in pursuit sitting around her, except Xelloss who floated in the air nearby grinning to himself.

"_Mom_, _your hair is_ getting _ridiculous_." _Val_ _pointed out to Filia, who's ponytail slid down over her shoulder and spilled all around her on the floor. "You could cut it three feet and it would still be really long." He suggested._

"_I know, it's silly, but I just get so nervous when I think about cutting it." Filia laughed to herself._

"_You're not afraid to go at it with Lord Beastmaster, but you're afraid to cut your hair?" Val questioned looking over his mother suspiciously._

"_That, and Xelloss once threatened to break all my pottery if I ever cut my hair." She laughed._

"_Why would he do that?" he asked confused, looking up at his father figure._

"_Well, let's just say he, has a thing for blondes." She smiled to herself. Val rolled his eyes, not wanting to try and understand his "parents" relationship. A young girl who looked like she was in her twenty's walked over to where Filia and Val were sitting and sat next to Filia. She had stacked red hair, with layered bangs. She wore a tight grey top and a pair of shiny black leather pants._

"_Good afternoon Miss Filia, Good afternoon Val." The Mazoku girl greeted, smiling at the dragon pair, her dark green eyes gazing at each of them._

"_Good afternoon." Filia replied back kindly, as Val smiled at her and said, "Good morning"_

"_Have you guy's heard what happened?" she asked as she looked at them with wonder. They both shook their heads as they prompted her to tell them. "Well, apparently it's going to be one of the main topics during today's meeting. Some old, crackpot sorcerer was attacked by a Mazoku last week, and the Mazoku never returned. Then, this morning he returned-" she paused dramatically. "His astral body was incased in a golem body shell, which made him unable to return to the astral plane." She explained._

"_Somehow, his monster powers were cut off, so he could not phase back to his master, so he traveled by foot till he found a Mazoku to return him home." She finished with relish._

"_What happened to the sorcerer?" Filia asked, "Why didn't the Mazoku have him reverse the spell?"_

"_That is the strangest part." The red-headed Mazoku questioned as she continued . "After the sorcerer cursed the Mazoku, he began to paint."_

"_Paint?" Val raised an eyebrow in suspension. _

"_Yes. He began to paint a large hallway with a door at the end, then he magically stepped through it and walked through the painting, opened the door and vanished." she whispered loudly. "Then the painting busted into flames. Leaving no trace of him behind."_

"That is really strange_." Filia replied. _

_"So here is what I want to know, how do you seal a Mazoku's energy? Where did the sorcerer go? And can we return the Mazoku back to normal?" She said looking at Val curiously. _

"_A Mazoku, trapped in a golem shell?" Filia pondered, and then sighed sadly._

"_Mom?" Val asked confused._

"_It's nothing, just thinking about the past."_

"_Filia-Chan! Are glum feelings I taste?" Xelloss asked sitting right in front of the dragon grinning widely, he nodded at Dexi as a greeting then focused his attention on Filia. "So what's getting ya down?"_

"_Have you heard of the Mazoku who-"_

"_Ah-ha!" Xelloss interrupted her laughing, "Predictable Filia." He smiled brightly. "Yes Beastmaster informed me when I arrived today, and I of course knew that when you heard you would remember a certain stony old friend." He smiled._

"_Do you have any thoughts on the situation?" Dexi asked Xelloss inquisitively._

"_Oh, I have a few." He said standing up patting Filia on the head lightly._

"_Really, what are they?" The redhead asked._

"_That's," Xelloss grinned placing his pointer finger in front of his lips. "A secret."_

_He chortled as he walked up toward the front of the room and sat close to where his master was. Dexi sighed and muttered, "That get's so old."_

"Tell me about it." Filia muttered watching the scene in front of her, getting a grin from Xelloss.

"_Salvia, what are you doing here?" Dexi asked the short black bobbed haired monster who sat beside her._

_The stone eyed Mazoku shrugged and replied, "Apparently Master Zelas decided she wanted me to come to the meeting, she is having Zohr play gatekeeper, I think she is going to assign me to a different job." She said indifferently._

"_Oh my. That is a rare oddity." Dexi stated. "Maybe we will work together."_

"_Joy." The short girl replied._

"_What kind of job would you like to do Salvia?" Filia asked looking over Sal, noticing her change of clothes. She was now wearing a dark green turtleneck, and red jumper. Sal looked out thoughtfully then replied, "Anything that causes bleeding would be fine." She replied in a monotone voice. Filia laughed weakly and turned her attention to the rising Mazoku lords._

"_Fellow Mazoku, and "Guest"-" Dynast said in aversion, "Let us began today's meeting swiftly, so we might end quickly." He stated vigorously in a deep voice. "As before, the search for Domink is abysmal, He is still working behind the scenes, and won't show himself." Dynast said in irritation. "The holy capital Seyruun is still impenetrable as ever, and King Dorian Wil Eldoran Seyruun continues to expand his territory to accommodate all of the filthy humans seeking refuge from the war."_

"_Now on to things that actually got accomplished. The Mazoku have fully infiltrated the Katart Mountains and captured at least twenty of the Dimos dragons, due to some mishaps, most escaped before questioning, but the rest were dealt with." He grinned._

_Simultaneously both present and future Filia's let out a quiet hiss._

_Dynast hateful eye looked at Filia for a short second then decided she wasn't worthy of his attention. He sat down looking bored and on edge at the same time, and in his absences, Deep Sea Dolphin stood up in his place._

"_The search for the next piece of our lord is not been successful, we of the demon sea, do not believe it has been born on to this plane as of yet. The same goes for the Knight of Cepheid." Lord Dolphin said, crossing her long elegant arms. "That is all I have to say."_

_The room felt dead silent as Zelas stood, her long orange curls hanging down her back. Her golden Mazoku eyes stared at nothing particular, as she brought a cigarette to her lips, after taking a deep drag; she pushed the smoke out of her astral body. "A wonderfully chaotic thing has beheld the monster race today." She spoke._

"_The Mazoku Rufus, who was under Dynast, has been sealed inside a shell, and can no longer access any of his Mazoku powers. The Priest and Generals of, Dynast, Dolphin and I are going to be looking into a way to reverse this, in hope to defend from it in the future." She said inhaling her cigarette once more._

"_Also, we have all agreed we will be sending a representative party to the Dragon temples, to negotiate with the dragon race, for a way to help our search of Domink, and a way to return Rufus to his original form. The ones we had selected, was Filia, of the Golds, Salvia, Daemon and Kurokei who are all under me." She informed._

"_Now, the open meeting is over, I would like only the priest and generals of myself and my comrades to remain." She dismissed everyone._

_Filia rose, her face pale, and excused herself out of the room, followed by her son. (And the invisible party)_

"Amazing." Lina said stretching her intangible legs, "To seal a Mazoku in a shell to where they can't escape, that's some pretty serious stuff." She grinned with a glint in her eye.

"Oh Miss Lina, I hope you're not cooking some kind of evil plan in that warped brain of yours." Xelloss said happily.

"This lead could turn out promising." Zelgadis said, as upbeat as possible for him.

"Yes Mr. Zelgadis, keep your hopes up!" Amelia said grinning broadly. "To think Seyruun is still a kingdom of hope and justice brings tears to my eyes!" she choked up.

Lina grinned to herself thinking of the possibilities of what she just learned, till her gaze fell on her partners puzzled face. "Hey Gourry, what is wrong?"

Gourry looked at her in pain, "I was just thinking," he started, "Whoa buddy, don't hurt yourself!" Lina replied in concern. "Filia, is going to talk to the Dragon race, for the monster race." He said trying to put his thoughts in to words.

"Yeah?" Lina replied not sure where he was going with this.

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?"

Lina looked at her companion with a thoughtful expression, and then looked over to Filia and Xelloss, who both looked at her with mixed emotions.

"Well-" She began scratching her head. "It's good for us at least, if she finds a way to heal that Rufus guy, and we can use it one Zelgadis." She decided.

"Yeah!" Gourry agreed.

Filia watched as they shoved the idea out of their heads, feeling betrayed by HERSELF of all people. Xelloss, unnerved by her state, said to only her, "Oh dear, my race is in trouble if we have to rely on a violent dragon to help us." He grinned. Filia didn't even get upset; she turned and faced him looking him straight in the face.

"Xelloss, do you believe any of this?" she asked him. Xelloss opened one eye and stared at her. "No. None of it."

For some reason his reply wasn't want she wanted, nor was the question what she really wanted to ask.


	5. What Color Are You? Tell Me! Please!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Beeeeeeeeeeeep.

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 5- What Color Are You? Tell Me? Please?**

"Ok, I am seriously going to go crazy!" Lina began screaming. "This is really educational and all, but I need to be solid again! I want to be able to kick something if I feel the urge!" she shouted trying to kick a Mazoku who was walking by, but her leg went right through him.

"I wouldn't mind eating something." Gourry said thoughtfully, looking at is redheaded friend in sadness.

"It would be nice to be able to kick back and relax, right Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia said smiling up at her chimera friend. He looked down at her and replied, "I wouldn't mind that."

"Perhaps tea," Filia added. "Tea would be nice."

"Now that I think about it, I will soon need to follow Filia and Xelloss separately." Nexus said.

"To get the whole story we will need to visit both where she is and where Xelloss is." The book thought out.

"Nexus,-" Filia began, "Is there anyway, we can watch what is going on, in our present time? So we could eat and possibly relax?" she asked sweetly.

"Hmm I think I have just the idea." He said. Abruptly, black miasma began to fill around them, swallowing everything around them, sucking them in.

Filia, felt like her whole body became heavier, and slowly, it began to feel colder. When the black faded away, she and her companions were in a large room with a fire place, and three large windows showing snow out on the earth. She looked down at her hands, which were flesh, and no longer transparent. She looked around and noticed there was a large sofa in front of a small table in front of a really large white sheet.

"Fooood!" Lina and Gourry shouted in harmony as they raced to the back corner of the room, where there was a buffet type table, laid out with varieties of food. Filia walked over to the couch and placed Nexus on the table. "What is this place?" she asked him.

"It is a place of my own creation. With the magic I have from the great L-sama. We can watch the events from here, if that pleases you master?"

Filia sat down on the comfy sofa feeling better already. She pulled her tea set out of the astral plane and made herself a cup of tea. Sighing, feeling better being in her own timeline she replied, "Yes this is much better."

"Unfortunately, you cannot leave this place, while we are on this pilgrimage, I will need to keep a close watch on all of you. The future is, not something that can be messed with, and we can't have someone wander off with the information we now posses." Nexus declared.

Xelloss glared at the book, as he had tried to phase to his master, but was unable. He quietly spoke to her mentally.

"Master," He thought.

"Yes Xelloss?" His master's cool alto voice sounded in his head.

"It seems I am unable to return to you right now. Have you ever heard of the Mazoku book called Nexus?"

"I have not."

"It claims to be the record of L-sama."

"Interesting, is this the reason you will not be able to return to me?"

"Yes my lord."

"Tell me all you can about this book."

Lina and Gourry fought over all the new looking food that was on the table that Nexus provided for them, and when they found a wiggly type of gel. They began to poke it with a spoon, making it jiggle. Gourry and Lina stared at it for a few seconds. "Do you think it's safe?"

"Hey Nexus, what is this red, wiggly stuff?" Lina inquired, keeping her eye on the shaky treat.

"It is Jell-o Lina; it's a future treat that is fruity." Nexus replied back to her.

Lina and Gourry continued to giggle the Jell-o fascinated by the dish. Amelia, who was now finished with her food, joined Filia on the sofa, followed by Zelgadis who was drinking a cup of coffee. He seemed to be enjoying it very much.

"Lina watch this!" Gourry said excited as he hovered his mouth close to the jell-o on his spoon, then without bringing it to his lips, sucked the fruity snack into his mouth, then opened it wide to show it already when down his throat.

"That is really gross Gourry; don't ever show that to anyone." Lina scowled lifting her own spoon of jell-o to her mouth, and then tried to do the same thing.

"You have to make a O with your lips," He instructed, "Then suck it in to your mouth." He finished, showing her again.

"You make it look so easy." She pouted when her Jell-o didn't even jiggle.

"Maybe you're not sucking hard enough." He said causing her blush furiously in embarrassment, and bended over to her spoon, and sucking the jell-o right off. It only took her a few seconds to recover.

"HEY THAT WAS MINE!"

"So, how are we going to watch what happens next Mr. Nexus?" Amelia asked grabbing a warm fuzzy blanked from a stack, cuddling underneath it on the sofa.

"Right-, if everyone would like to focus their eyes, on the large white screen."

Everyone looked around the room, not knowing what they were looking for. Lina and Gourry took seats on the long couch having finished all the wonderful Jell-o, Gourry sitting on the end, with Lina to his left, who sat by Filia, followed by Amelia and then Zelgadis. Xelloss skipped over and sat down right in front of Filia on the floor.

"Put your head on my leg and your dead." She threatened him. He made a pouty face and complained, "But darling,"

She glared down at him as fierce as she could muster; as he grinned calmly back up at her, sitting very close to her crossed legs. The drapes by the large windows magically were drawn and the large white sheet that was hanging on the wall they were facing began to flicker with magic. Suddenly, Filia, from the future was standing in the hallway in mid step, frozen in place.

"Give the word when you are ready to start." Nexus said.

"Were ready." Filia replied watching the wonderful screen come to life.

_Filia continued to walk till she was a good deal away from the meeting room. She and Zelas, had already talked about her mission, and she was prepared for what was a head of her. The only thing now, was how HE was going to react. It has always been him going on missions. In over the last 600 years, Filia had hardly ever left Wolfpack Island. It was too dangerous for her. Now, Zelas had a plan, and she was going to help as much as she could, and Zelas told her not to tell Xelloss anything. He had no idea what was planned, and he will probably be against it and he would know that he couldn't do anything about it. _

_Filia sighed out loud. Hiding something from him was something she didn't want to do. She was worried that he would feel betrayed. Knowing Xelloss, and she did, he would pretend it didn't bother him. He always did that, kept his feelings locked down._

"_Mom?" Val called out from behind her. She turned around looking at her son's worrisome face. "Did you know this was going to happen? Did you know you were going to be sent away?" He asked her demanding._

"_Yes dear,-"_

"_Why?" he shouted, "Why would you agree to do something so dangerous?" he asked her, his anger rising slightly making her happy to see her son care so much. "It will help Lord Zelas." She said simply. "Now I don't want you brooding over this." She said gently touching his face with her hand. "I will be fine."_

_Val closed his eyes and sighed. "Xel isn't going to be happy."_

"_Let me deal with your father." She smiled at her son. "He will be in the real meeting for some time, I was going to go to Xelloss study to read a little before I began to get ready to go." She said._

"_Get ready? When are you leaving?" Val asked slightly fearful. _

"_Tonight." Filia stated. "Now I will see you at supper." Val looked down at his mother in fear, nodding his head, he excused himself allowing her to make her way to the study. _

_Filia walked to Xelloss study, walking in and shut the door. She walked past the books and stood in front of a chair. Then she lifted her skirt up, under her dress, was her black garter, which held mace-sama in place, and also an old, small book. She grabbed the book and released her dress letting it cover he leg again. She sat down, stroking the spine of the book._

"_Master, what is it you wish from me?" Nexus asked in a tenor voice._

"_Nexus, I need council." Filia spoke to the book._

"_I am here to serve you my lady." The book replied. _

"_If I were to leave you behind, on my mission, and perhaps I were to not return-"_

"_My master, you will return." The book stated flatly._

"_Yes but If, I don't return, what would happen to you?" she asked._

"_I was created for my master, I serve my master. When my master is gone there will be no reason for me." The book said._

"_Why would L-sama's record be made for me?" she asked._

"_You have asked me this many times before, and like always, there is some information I am not allowed to share." The book said. She sighed then asked her next question._

"_Do you know of a way to imprison a Mazoku in to something to where they could not use their Mazoku powers? Or how to release it?" she asked._

"_Hmm, if I had information like that I doubt I would remain in this book." The Mazoku replied. Filia mentally slapped herself for being insensitive._

"_I see." She said placing the book on one of Xelloss bookshelves. When she needed him he would be there, until then he would be safe here._

_There was a soft knock on the door, and Filia walked over to it and opened the door. A pair of green eyes stared back at her in desperation. It was a young man, who looked like he was only sixteen, with short spiky red hair, and a young gold haired girl, sitting on his shoulders yanking on his hair laughing gleefully._

"_Miss Filia, please-" he clapped his hands together pleading, "Help me!"_

_Filia sighed and grabbed her daughter off of the poor kid, and stood her on the floor trying to give her a stern look._

"_Odilia,-" She began, knowing the girl knew she was in trouble when she used her full name, "What did you think you were doing?" _

_The little girl gave a pout, obviously thinking she did nothing wrong, and defended herself. "Well mother, it should be obvious." The tiny girl replied sharply, making Filia angry, and wanting to laugh out loud at the same time. "Haleron is a dragon like you and I, so I asked him to transform in to his dragon form, because I was curious what color a dragon he was, and he refused. So I told him I wanted to ride on top of him, and he said that wouldn't be a good idea so I needed to prove him wrong." She stated, as if to justify herself._

_Filia looked at Haleron, and then quietly whispered, "What color are you anyway?" _

_A large sweat drop appeared over Haleron's head."Miss Filia," he whined, "I don't see why that is such a big deal right now. You asked me to teach Oldie History, how can I do that when she is more concerned with what color dragon I am, or why my tail doesn't pop out like hers, or why I can't use magic." He pouted lazily._

"_Well there is only one way I think we can settle this." She said opening the door, holding her hand out motioning both inside the study. Haleron and Odile walked in curiously. Filia shut the door behind them and took a seat in Xelloss squish chair behind his desk, as the two sat on the couch in front of it._

"_Now, Odile, what do you know about Dimos Dragons?" She asked her daughter. Odile looked from Filia to Haleron the thought really hard, or it looked like she was trying to. Finally she looked up at her mom with wide eyes. "They are really lazy!" she said proudly_

"_Lazy?" Filia asked confused. Odile looked at Haleron then looked at her mother. "Yep, he is really lazy. He yawns all the time, it takes him forever to stand up, and he doesn't like to play games. He always acts like he is bored and he doesn't like any kind of exercise." She replied. Filia laughed out loud._

"_That doesn't mean all Dimos Dragons are like that." Filia replied. She looked at Haleron, who looked like he was more interested in the books behind her, then what they were talking about. "Alright, now let me say what I know." She said to the both of them._

"_Dimos Dragons, are variety in color, unlike all other type of Dragons. They all live in Kataart Mountains, and are known to be the strongest of all dragons, in the physical sense. They age slowly like all dragons, causing them to not reach complete adult hood till they reach a hundred years. Like most dragons, they do not go in to old age until after they are three thousand years old." She stated. _

"_Really, I didn't know that." Odile said looking at her mom._

"_Yes, by human terms, you look like you are four years old dear, but we both know your over twelve." Filia told the little girl. _

"_It's because our brains develop faster that our bodies. You told me that before!" she said. Filia nodded then continued on. "Since Dimos Dragons are not magically incline like Gold, Ancient and Black dragons, it is very rare for a Dimos dragon to be able to take human form. Especially one that is so young." She said eyeing Haleron suspiciously._

"_Well he can look like a human!" Odile pointed out, "Cuz if he couldn't Odile would have never found him!"_

"_Yeah, I remember, it was about ten years ago wasn't it Odile?" Filia said thinking back. Odile looked up at her strangely. "Mom, it was seven." The tiny girl said. _

"_Oops." Filia giggled._

"_Haleron, what were you doing swimming in the water of Wolfpack Island?" Odile scolded. "You were drowning, if I hadn't seen your bright red hair you could have died!"_

"_I told you before, I had flew away from Kataart, and I was attacked by a flock of lesser dragons, so I transformed in to a human to hide from them, but then when I fell in to the water, I hit my head, then when I woke up I was here, and you were standing over me, crying." He signed._

"_I thought you were dead and I never saw a dead person before." She squealed. "I healed you with a spell momma taught me, and you were good as new."_

"_And since you had left the Kataart Mountains, you had nowhere to go, so when you learned where you were, and said it would be interesting to side with the Lord Beastmaster." Filia said._

"_And it had been dreadfully dull." He replied picking his nose with his pinky._

"_So Odile, do you have any more questions?" Filia finished up slightly disgusted._

"_He still didn't tell me what color he is!" she shouted. He looked down at her and smiled._

"_Get every question on you exam right tomorrow and I will." He grinned._

"_That's not fair, you know I won't!" she pouted. _

"_Then I guess you will never know." He said sadly. Filia mentally applauded Haleron on his strategy to get Odile to study harder, but at the same time, she was put out. She also wanted to know the secrets behind Haleron, and the mysteries that followed him. He had never shown his dragon side, nor explained how he was able to take on a human form. He had however proved his dragon heritage, by proving he was a dragon by dispelling a barrier that Filia set up once, that could only be broken by a dragon. _

"_Well then, it seems that you have some studying to do Odile. Go finish up your lessons, mind Haleron and try to behave, and I will see you at supper." Filia said standing up excusing them. _

_They walked out the door, and she grabbed Haleron's arm and whispered to him. "I will be leaving later this evening on a mission; I do not have any idea when I will return." She said to him as his eyes widen. "Keep an extra eye on her." She said, and then released his arm._

"_Come on Haleron! I have to study hard to learn what color you are." Shouted Odile from down the hall. Haleron looked straight in Filia's eyes then replied, "No harm will come to her as long as I am here to protect her." _

_Filia nodded her head at him then turned in to the room again and shut the door. _

_There was soft clapping that filled the silence of the room. Filia turned around and saw Xelloss sitting on top of his desk with his legs crossed, smiling at her with his usual big goofy grin._

"_Well done Filia, keeping our daughter up with her studies by bribing her with information." He grinned, as if it was her idea to start with. "And I always thought Val was smart to his own accord."_

_Filia's stared at her monster. Even though he was teasing her, she could feel the raging torment underneath his happy exterior. She walked over to him, placing her hands on his face and pulled him to her chest in a hug._

"_Are you angry?" she whispered. _

_There was a pause then he replied. "No." _

_Her eyes began to slowly fill, as she moved his face from her and she looked down at him, he opened his eyes and retuned the gesture. His eyes were soft, not menacing, as he looked up at her. _

"_You understand why I didn't tell you?" she asked._

"_Lord Beastmaster informed me that you had sworn you would not tell anyone about this upcoming mission. I would have been more angry if you broke your vow to her." He replied to her, catching a strain of her gold locks in his gloved hand."She truly trusts you now, to send you out to the dragons, away from protection, away from me." He whispered._

_Filia did not remove her hands from his face as she looked down at him. Sighing she pressed her forehead on to his. Staying like that for a few moments._

"_Did she tell you the whole mission?" she asked._

"_She told me the basics. And also, she gave me a new mission." He said slowly. Filia's eyes widened as she moved her head away from him. "W-what?"_

"_Tonight, I am to leave Wolfpack Island, and begin the search of the sorcerer who cursed Rufus." He said._

"_N-No." she said in horror as she stared at his blank face. "Then Odile and Val will be left here alone?" she said shaking, tears beginning to spill._

"_Filia." He commanded in a stern voice. "Do you trust Lord Zelas?" he asked in all seriousness._

_Filia looked at him for a few seconds then wiped her tears away. "Yes."_

"_Then, trust her judgment on these separate matters." He replied to her. "Val and Odile will have each other and I have a feeling Haleron will be keeping an extra eye on Odile. Worry instead on your mission to come, and returning home, to your family." He comforted her._

"_I was hoping she would send you with me." She said silently._

"_Our personal feelings would have destroyed what you will try to accomplish." He reasoned. She silently agreed with him. Not knowing if he knew the reality behind his words. She stared in to his eyes a little longer. Gods she missed him._

"_Are you scared?" She asked him, touching his soft hair with her finger tips. He stared at her for a moment till he replied-_

"_Now that, Is a se-" She covered his lips with her own before he could finish._

"Oh no." Filia moaned covering her eyes from the scene in front of her. "Not again."

Amelia stared at the screen, her eyes glued to the magical images in front of her. Zelgadis had left to use the restroom, and Gourry and Lina were now in a Jell-o slurping contest, oblivious to what was happening on the screen.

Xelloss, who had moved to sit beside Filia, turned and grinned at Filia, "I like this part, maybe we should reenact it."

"I would rather die, and sell my soul to the devil." She spat.

"Well, then it seems it will only be a matter of time." He giggled.

~ Note ~

**Authors note: Jell-o Slurping is fun! And also, the stuff I said about Dragons, and Dimos Dragons, is not real Slayers information. I made it all up for this story.**


	6. Dinner and Goodbye's!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. I did just order all five movies though! I'm so excited!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 6- Dinner and Goodbye's?**

"Tell me again why the screen is blank?" Lina asked as she stared at the screen

"I think the screen is blank because his "Master" is taking part in something not suitable for all ages." Xelloss grinned wildly, looking at the lump hidden under the blanket besides him. He didn't need to see her to feel, and taste, the embarrassment Filia was letting off. He laughed out loud, still, if this future was true, that would be twice in one day, he grinned to himself.

"Glad to see someone is pleased with themselves." Nexus said testily.

"Good gods Filia." Lina said over the couch. "It's still really weird to think of you with Xelloss." Filia threw the blanket off of her glaring up at Lina. "I'm not!" she shrieked.

"Well not yet anyway." Zelgadis replied.

"Oh Fi-Chan, Loosen up babe!" Xelloss said wrapping his arm tightly around the dragon. "It was bound to happen eventually anyway. Well, with my good looks, a charismatic personality, and your need to depend on someone, your violent nature, you needed a strong partner that could live through a day with you." He grinned.

"M-Miss Filia?" Amelia said fearfully, staring at the flames coming off of Filia.

"Na- Na-" She trembled, causing Xelloss to look down at her curiously. Her head snapped up, her eyes completely red, laser breath on the tip of her tongue. "NAMAGOMI!"

"Whoa Filia! Calm down!" Zelgadis jumped up as Filia began shooting laser breath around the room, which magically healed it's self, but he doubted the same thing would happen to a person. Zelgadis ran up to her and splashed water on the Dragoness, who blinked in horror and raised her hands to her mouth. "What did I just do?"

"Filia," Lina spoke calmly, "WHAT THE HELL?"

"Wasn't she wonderful?" Xelloss laughed enjoying the chaos, "That's my girl."

Zelgadis hit his head with the pale he found the water in, as Lina groaned. Gourry looked at each of their faces then smiled. "I think they're cute together." He said giving his blessing.

"Gourry, how can you take a terrible situation, and make it worst in five words?" She asked her vain on her forehead pulsing. Gourry looked down at Lina confused. "What? Do you disagree?"

"Yes Gourry, I completely Disag-" Lina paused looking at Xelloss and Filia, "WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR ARM AROUND HER?" She shouted scratching her head franticly.

"Miss Lina seems to be frazzled." Amelia said sadly, as she took the pale away from Zelgadis, which could no longer be recognized as a pale.

"When you all are ready, I will resume, of course I will skip forward the parts we don't want to see." Nexus said, drawling everyone's attention. Quickly everyone returned to the long couch. Xelloss, who ended up getting a seat between Filia and Lina, reached over Filia, to Zelgadis, "Popcorn?" he asked innocently, his arm grazing Filia's chest.

"No thanks." Zelgadis replied, as Filia hit Xelloss with her mace her vain on the verge of exploding, taking the popcorn from him. The magic screen began again.

_Filia, was placing things on the top of Xelloss desk, that had appeared to fallen off. Whoops._

_She sighed quietly._

"_What's the matter?" Xelloss asked from behind, wrapping his arms around her. She looked around the room, and replied, "I was just thinking of how to tell Odile I'm leaving tonight." Filia replied saddened._

"_How do you do it?" she breathed, turning in Xelloss embrace. "How do you find the strength to leave every time?"_

"_Well first,-" he stated tapping her nose. "I enjoy my job, plus I like to please Lord Beastmaster." He said. She frowned at this answer, which was not helping her. "I am also use to doing it, since I have done it ever since I was created." He continued._

"_But, it helps, to know when I return, you will be there waiting." He finished, as she smiled warmly at him."Has it been a lot easier, since you began controlling your emotion fix?" she asked._

"_Since Nexus revealed how Monsters can feed off positive emotion?" He asked, as she nodded her head._

"_The thing is, Lord Zelas at least, kind of figured that one out already. It was harder then it seemed to practice something like that." He said thoughtfully out loud. "But I try, and when I come home, sometimes your happiness catches me by surprise and I can't defend against it." He grinned at her, as he sat down in his desk chair, sitting her on top._

"_But eventually, I will learn how to control it. And then we will have no boundaries." He grinned up at her._

"_It was hard for me when Odile was born." She said quietly. "To control my happiness."_

"_You did wonderfully." He smiled at her, his soft amethyst eyes locked on to her clear blue ones. "And now, she is learning from Lord Zelas, to feed of positive emotions as well." Filia stiffened, then slowly, tears began to spill over her eyelashes on to her red dress._

"_Filia?" Xelloss asked confused._

"_I-It's just; Zelas gets to spend so much time with her. I am better at controlling my emotions around her; it never seems to bother Odile anymore, so why-" She sniffed, "Why can't I be around her more?"_

_Xelloss sighed not knowing how to gently answer this question. He gave Filia a few moments to collect herself. "You know that if your mission is successful, Lord Zelas will begin to send you out on more missions." He told her, she looked at him and nodded her head. "I figured that."_

"_Well, if anything were to happen to me or you, isn't it a good thing to know that someone like Beastmaster will be watching over her?" He asked, avoiding her original question. Filia's eyes widened, and then said, "Your right."_

"_Eventually I will not be around, and Zelas will always be there for her." She reasoned. Xelloss looked at her apprehensively, "We'll I did mean it like that silly."_

"_But it is true; my time comes closer to an end every day. Either I am slain in battle, or I die of old age, eventually I will be gone." She said bluntly, brushing her hand on his face. "I am not immortal."_

"_Filia, you're not going to die any time soon." Xelloss said seriously then broke in to a big cheesy smile. "You can't escape me that easily." He said as he pulled her closer to him. Even though he was joking with her, there was an edge to his tight embrace. Suddenly she sat up straight, causing him to release his embrace._

"_Alright, no more frowny faces." She said, even though he was smiling, "We haven't had everyone together in over six weeks! Let's have some family time before we leave this evening!" she declared. Xelloss grinned, scooping her up, and phased._

_They appeared in a large room where, Odile and Haleron were in full out study mode. Odile, had a stack of large books in front of her, a pen in her hand, drool falling out her mouth. Odile's expression was fierce, as she slept on the top of Haleron's extended arm, who was also deep asleep._

"_They are real overachievers." Giggled Xelloss, as Filia, grabbed the edge of the table, lifting it up, letting it drop to the ground. This startled the two, waking them. She looked down at them unpleasantly. Odile rubbed her eyes and looked up at her mom. "What was that for?" she yawned._

"_It would seem you two are done studying for the day." Filia said glaring down at the both of them. "So I will be taking Odile for the evening." Odile's face brightened up and looked at her parents. "Really! Are we going to spend time together? All of us?" she asked merrily._

"_Yes ma'am!" Xelloss replied to his enthused daughter. She jumped up in to his arms smiling widely. "Well what are you waiting for? Let's go!" She smiled happily, looking down at Haleron, "Be prepared to tell me your secret tomorrow!"_

_The three of them phased to a large library, where Val was looking over a book, with Dexi sitting next to him, also engrossed in a large volume. He looked up at his family and sighed out loud. "Let me guess, family time?" he said putting his book on the table._

"_That's right mister." Filia said to her son. Val looked at them for a second then looked down at Dexi. _

_The red-head smiled at him warmly. "I think I'm going to hangout in here for a little longer, so I'm gonna skip out this time."_

_"You don't have to." Filia said to her. _

_"No really, lots of things to research for the boss lady." She waved her hand egging them to leave. Val shook his head at her before he bent down and kissed her on the forehead._

_"Ow." She responded to the affectionate gesture, as she waved her hand too Val as he walked over to his mother and grabbed her hand. Then they all phased away._

_They appeared in one of the many kitchens at Wolfpack Island. The kitchen seemed deserted at the time._

"_Hm, that's odd." Filia said looking around the kitchen. "Nobody is here."_

"_Maybe we should try another one?" Val said, not seeing any one._

"_That's silly." Xelloss grinned, causing Filia's body turn to ice, knowing what was coming next. "We can just make dinner ourselves." He grinned rolling his sleeves up._

"_There is no way I'm eating anything you make." Filia said in a dead serious voice. "Your "cooking" Is a lost art of potion making, to kill even the toughest of foes."_

_Xelloss looked at her in shock. "And I thought I hid it so well." He pouted._

"_Maybe it would be fun if we all cooked together!" Odilia said joyfully._

"_I'm not interested." Val said, sitting down. Filia sighed and walked into the kitchen and looked at the stuff that was in there. "What is everyone hungry for?"_

"_Meat."_

"_Pasta."_

"_Chocolate!"_

_Filia's vain popped as she stared at her family, ok, since Odilia was still young, she craved meat a lot. She got that. Getting an idea from Val was usually futile, so for once, his idea seemed to be welcomed, she reasoned then she glared at Xelloss."_

"_We are not, having chocolate for dinner. It might not matter what YOU put in your black void, but my babies need real food to help them grow." She mothered._

"_I'm full grown man." Val defended dully._

"_I can eat whatever I want." Odile reasoned, which was true, she seemed to have a habit every now and then to eat mass amounts of food, and it had no effect on her whatsoever._

"_What kind of pasta did you have in mind Val?" Filia said ignoring them as they teamed up against her._

"_How about spaghetti with meatballs?" Val replied. Odilia smiled brightly and added. "I will make desert!"_

"_Ok, Val, you're going to make salads and drinks, Odile, you can use that kitchen to make whatever you want, Xelloss-" She glared. "You can wait here." She said stiffly turning to make the spaghetti._

_Xelloss pouted and decided to follow Filia in to the kitchen anyway._

"_Don't think you're going anywhere near the food." She said sharply. "I still haven't forgotten that time you made me "cupcakes" eight hundred years ago!" she said bitterly._

"_Aw, I worked so hard on them! They were gold and purple remember?" he reminded her._

"_I remember spending a lot of money replacing the table you sat them on, after they charred the finish and ate through it." She said sourly._

_Xelloss giggled gleefully at the memory, as she pulled a box of pasta strings down. She placed a big pan on top of the stove, and filled it with water._

"_So, how are we going to tell them?" He asked after a few minutes of waiting on the water to boil. She sighed and turned to him. "Well, Val knows I'm leaving already at least." She said._

"_Odile with be upset." He said, "That will be inevitable."_

"_I know that." Filia whispered._

"_She will be fine." He added._

_Filia poured the pasta strings in the pot, and began to stir them apart. "I know that too."_

_She walked over and grabbed some meat and began making meat balls, "Will you stir the noodles, GENTLY." She commanded. Xelloss walked over the the pot of wet noodles. He grinned evilly, and began to stir the pasta._

"_You know, this would taste great with -"_

"_No." She replied, not even wanting to know what he was thinking, keeping an eye on him at all times. He smiled as she continued her work. When she finished her meatballs and put them in the oven she began making the sauce, as he continued to stir the noodles._

"_What exactly did Lord Zelas tell you?" Filia asked quietly._

"_She told me that you're going to represent all living things, asking for information on Domink, and search for a way to heal Rufus." He said quietly back. "Is there more?"_

_Filia sighed, so Zelas didn't tell him the whole truth. "I swore not to tell." She whispered sadly._

"_Then you can't." He replied simply._

"_Is it hard for you?" she asked._

_He grinned devilishly. "Always, when I'm with you."_

"_Namagomi, I meant not being ever to tell me the whole truth, about all of your missions."_

"_Sometimes I am thankful for it." He said, stirring the pasta thoughtfully._

"_What does that mean?" she asked displeased._

"_Filia, even though we have moved forward more than anyone ever could have hoped to, I am still a monster." He said not looking up._

_Filia looked down at her tomato sauce thinking of what he just admitted. Of course she knew that half the missions he went on, she would not have been happy about them. Not sharing was better than knowing in some ways. On the other hand, that just meant she was overlooking who he was. She knew that he, and everything her life was now, was against everything she ever was in the past. But, not knowing about it, made if feel ok, made it feel like it was alright._

"_It is hard not knowing what you're going out to do. It is hard for me to know that where you are going, I cannot watch over you, or protect you." He said breaking the silence, causing her to smile as tears weld in her eyes. Typical Xelloss, saying something that makes her second guess herself and then, follow up with something so unexpected and so, so pure. Then the weight of his words crashed down on her. Cut off. She was going to be completely cut off from him._

_She dropped her sauce spoon as she felt the weight of terror and fear take over her. Of course Xelloss will not be there for her. Even though she doesn't like to be a damsel in distress, at least she always knew that somehow some way, if she was in trouble, he would always be there for her. This time, if he were to somehow be needed, and appeared, he would ruin the whole plan Zelas had set up, not to mention lose their chances of finding out what the dragons were up to. And Filia was their only way to do this peacefully._

"_How long will we be apart this time?" She whispered out loud._

_Xelloss keep silent as Filia, finished her sauce, with a clean spoon, and mixed the noodles and meatballs together with the meal. He could feel the uncertainty in her heart, and the fear she felt. He knew that he wasn't allowed to follow her on her mission, and he knew whatever Zelas was planning, he would not like it. This is why his wise master had not shared this information with him. His mission was more of a distraction from Filia than anything, he knew that, and he respected his master's plan and trusted her and Filia enough to know what had to be done, needs to be done. But that didn't make things easier._

"_It's ready." She said dully looking at the meal, with a sudden loss of appetite. That will not do, he decided. This would be the last time they were all together for a long while, and she would regret it if she spent it moping around._

"_I guess it will do, but if it were me, I would have added some peppers and more spices in the meat." He criticized, looking down at them meal disapproving. "The meat balls could have been bigger too."_

_Instead of getting upset, Filia knew what he was doing, and grabbed him, pulling herself on to him and began to weep in his chest. Xelloss held her close, tasting her pain, getting HIS dinner. She sure had been crying a lot today. She must have been holding it in since she learned her mission. He pulled her from him slightly, raising her chin with his hand. "Filia," He spoke gently. "Everything is going to be ok."_

_She looked up at him with red eyes, snot running down her nose, he would had giggled out loud at her, if he didn't respect the sensitiveness of the situation. He handed her a napkin to allow her to adjust herself. Then when she cleared her face up, he leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't a passionate kiss, full of need; instead it was completely for her, to comfort her, to gently tell her, that he was there for her, that he wanted her to feel at ease. He felt her fear and worry ebb away, and when they broke a part, she had a faint blush on her checks. He tenderly kissed her forehead, and then said, "No more frowny faces." He repeated her statement back to her. She looked back at him, smiling a genuine smile, making him feel a pang of pain. This was pure joy, pure love; and his untrained Mazoku soul, could not defend against it._

"_Alright." She replied grabbing the pot of spaghetti. "This is our last evening together, I want happy memories to think about while I'm away." She said walking out to the dining room. Xelloss sighed sadly, and then looked up at her sharply. Filia, he thought, you have no idea what you do to me._

_He joined her out in the dining room, along with Val, who was immersed in a book, and had a salad bowl sitting in the middle of the table, and a pitcher of iced tea. He had even gone through the trouble of setting out the plates. Filia walked over to him and kissed his forehead, causing the ancient to blush. "Mom! Cut that out."_

"_I can't help it; I have the most wonderful son." She said on the verge of choking up. But she kept it together as she sat the dinner on the table. Odilia came in to the room, with a white apron on over her orange dress, which was spotless._

"_It should be done in twenty more minutes." She replied sitting down._

"_What is it?" Xelloss asked excitedly._

"_A Surprise!" she said happily. Unlike Xelloss, Odilia was very good at cooking._

_Filia passed the Salad around, as Val poured tea for everyone. Filia felt very happy. It was like a perfect picture of the family she always wanted. Perfect, at least on the outside._

_They enjoyed their dinner together, talking about the things Odile had been learning with Zelas and Haleron, and Xelloss entertaining everyone with a story of a peddler he met on his previous mission that tried to sell him holy artifacts to ward off demons._

_When the plates had been cleared, left for the staff to clean, because they were too lazy, Odilia appeared with four, hot chocolate soufflé's. All were perfectly made._

_When they were almost done, Filia decided it was time._

"_There is something your father and I, need to talk to you to about." She began. Xelloss and Val looked up at her apprehensively, as Odile looked at her mom in suspicion._

"_After dinner, we will both be leaving on separate missions for Lord Zelas and neither of us are sure when we will be returning." She said solemnly._

"_You're both leaving?" Val asked in alarm._

"_Mommy why?" Odile said sadly, looking at Filia with her bright amethyst eyes searching for an answer._

"_Lord Beastmaster has a mission only I can do." Filia told her. "And I care about her and I want to make Lord Zelas happy."_

"_I love her too mommy," Odilia said, her eyes filling with tears. "I want her to be happy. But what will I do without you?" she said, taking Filia by surprise. Filia's eyes filled with tears, and held her arms out for her daughter, as she wrapped her arms around her tightly._

"_Mommy is wondering the same thing." she whispered to the girl, her bright blue eyes shining, "I love you very much."_

_Odilia looked from Filia to Xelloss, "Father, will you be gone for a long time again?" She asked sadly._

"_I will, but I will be able to stop back anytime you need me." He said winking at her. "You only need to call for me with your mental link we practiced."_

_Odilia concentrated really hard, and sent to Xelloss mind, __**I love you daddy.**_

_Xelloss smiled back at her. "And I as well."_

"_Val," Filia said looking down at her son, "I trust you to take care of things while I am gone." She said looking at him motherly. "I have faith in you."_

"_Of course mom." The man said._

_Filia stood up releasing Odilia, "I only have ten minutes before I leave." She stated, looking at them sadly. "I will expect a hug from all of you, when I return." She said, "So I have something to look forward to while I'm away." She stated._

_She stared at each of them, Odilia's eyes full of tears, smiling bravely, Val, looking at her with worry and confidence, she would remember this, showing her the true hearts of her children, and Xelloss, his eyes wide open, emotions she couldn't place behind his fierce gaze, but she translated them as, Filia go, Filia Stay, Filia, my love._

_She smiled at them and bowed her head to them. "I love you all. I will return successful." She said turning to walk out of the room._

"_Filia," Xelloss called after her. She turned to look at him, feeling her resistance to cry crack. "Yes?"_

"_If you are in a situation, where your life is in danger, do not hesitate to slay your enemy. I know how you are, and you're merciful to a fault. You will return to us, and you will return whole." He said fiercely. She looked in to his eyes for a long second, swallowed, and nodded her head, then walked out of the door._

_She phased to Zelas room, where Salvia, Daemon, Kurokei and Zelas were waiting on her. Her face was masking the sadness and fear inside her, which of course each monster in the room could feel. But they either ignored it, or feed off it silently because nobody said anything about it._

_Zelas stood in front of them, her light orange hair like dawn, as it curled around the frame of her face, then cascading down her back. She had a Egyptian style clothes on, with gold bangles on her hands and feet, the white fabric of her clothes, covering only what it needed to concealed, leaving the rest of her sporty, tall body showing. She held a long thin cigarette holder, with a lit cigarette, her deviant eyes sweeping over the strange gathering of two dragons, her gate keeper, and her human relation counselor._

"_We are all here now, shall we begin?" Zelas spoke in her deep, rich voice, taking a drag of her cigarette._

Amelia blew her nose loudly, wiping the tears from her eyes as she watch the lifetime story unfold in front of her eyes. "How sad m-miss F-Filia!" she sobbed.

Zelgadis patted her back hesitantly as she weep irrationally, even though it was slightly cute.

Lina looked at Filia in anger, "I want one of those chocolate things!" she yelled at the dragoness, as if she had been holding out on her.

Xelloss was still smiling, with an edge to his grin.

Gourry, had fallen asleep already and was undisturbed by everyone.

Filia looked up at the screen still thinking that it was all fake. It was false, it wasn't real. But then again she thought as she touched her face wiping away the wetness that had trailed down her check; it was very hard to look away.

"Now, this is where your answers begin." Nexus said, "On to the Fire Dragon Temple."

here...


	7. Return To Fire Dragon Temple!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. I do wish I owned lots of money so I could stay home from work and write all day! But I don't. So I can't.

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 7- Return to Fire Dragon Temple? **

"_We are all here now, shall we begin?" Zelas spoke in her deep, rich voice, taking a drag of her cigarette._

_Filia stared at Zelas eager, nodding her head, to afraid to speak in case her voice would crack. She was ready to do this. At least that's what she told herself._

"_Well then, I release you on your mission." She said her gold eyes flicking from each. "I want you to visit the Fire Dragon Temple to learn all you can about the two items we discussed. Report back when you have valid answers. Your dismissed." She said. _

_They each nodded their heads and phased from the room, Filia phased in to her room where her bag was for her journey. It was a simple over the shoulder satchel, which had only a few clothes and books in it. She removed her red dress quickly, stockings and all, and placed a long peach colored dress on, It was pleated at the bottom, with one slit up to her thigh and gathered at her waist. The dress was a turtle neck at the top, and sleeveless. She placed a simple light grey cloak over herself, and a long pair of grey boots. She placed the bag over her shoulder and sighed. _

_Filia took one last look at the room, and phased to the palace gates where Daemon was waiting on her. He wore a simple black shirt and a dark blue cape over it. His pants were also black, and tucked in to a pair of gray boots. He looked at her and nodded. Next to him was Sal, who was looking extra short next to the tall dragon. She was still in the dark green turtle neck that was under a red jumper dress, with a red bow tied in her dark black bob. She stared at Filia with bored grey eyes._

"_We should leave before the sun sets." She said laid back._

"_Yes, we shall be phasing close to the temple, then me and Daemon will transform." Filia said, remembering the plan they talked over day's before._

"_I will go ahead and change my form then." Sal said, as she changed her astral body, in to a small black and brown robin. Filia stared amazed at the Mazoku's power in changing her shape. The bird fluttered around there heads slowly, and then perched on Daemons shoulder, its beady black eyes blinking back at her bored._

"_Alright, and is Kurokei already in place?" Filia asked Daemon noticing there other monster ally missing._

"_He is, are you ready?" He asked, extending his hand to her. She took his hand, as he guided her to where they were phasing to. _

_They arrived in mid air, as she and Daemon began to transform in to their dragon forms. Filia glowed with golden light as she transformed in to her golden dragon form. Beside her, Daemon emitted a redder hue as he transformed in to a great black dragon. His snout was long, with lots of teeth, his wings spread as he began to fly above Filia._

_He was twice the size of Filia, as he soared majestically by her. Filia, who had never seen his dragon form before, was in awe of him. He was muscular, covered in his leather like skin, and slim. His eyes were dark blue, almost black, as they darted to and fro._

_They flew together, not speaking, approaching the Fire temple. Filia felt a skip in her heart, knowing that it had been over 900 years since she visited the fire temple. About a hundred years after all her fellow kin were destroyed by Darkstar, fellow temples sent Golds to the temple, to rebuild, and repopulate the temple. Since then she never stepped foot on the grounds._

_After the War of severance started, Dragons from the temples, began to hunt her and Val down, and after that, she severed all connections with the dragon race. Now, she flew to them, to request information on behalf of Lord Zelas. Ironic wasn't it. She escaped the dragons, by finding refuge with her enemy, and then was sent back to them from the same monster, to gather information on peaceful terms. She snorted; she would bet her wings that this will not end peacefully._

_She saw the palace on the horizon drawling closer to her; it had changed over the years. The temple had been completely reconstructed. She noticed the – well she didn't' know what to call it- part of the temple Miss Lina Inverse reconstructed many, many years ago, was no longer there, and she felt saddened. _

_Filia and Daemon made a large arch around the temple, before landing on the ground outside the gates. They didn't need to wait long, till seven or eight dragons, flew out to meet them. The Golds landed in front of them. _

"_Hello strangers." The one in the front spoke to them, "What brings you to our temple?" He asked._

_Filia took a breath then said. "My Name is Filia Ul Copt." She said loudly, as some of the dragons eyes narrowed at her. "I wish to talk to your supreme elder."_

"_Our leader will have no desire to talk to a backstabbing, Monster worshipper such as you." One of the dragons spat at her._

"_The matters I wish to speak to him about, concern the Human race, Monster race, and the Dragon race." She continued, her determination unwavering. She stood proudly as she spoke to them, her fear unnoticed. The sun was slowly beginning to set behind her, as she watched the dragons glare at her. Daemon stood a few steps behind her, ready to attack if he was needed._

"_We will have to talk to our supreme elder." The dragon in the front said to her. "We will return in the morning with our answer." He said raising his wings, Preparing to flying back in to the palace._

"_Then I will be here at dawn." She replied._

_The dragons flew away from her quickly, as she and Daemon flew to the nearby woods, to camp till dawn._

"Ok, so why didn't the stupid elder just come out to greet the strangers in the first place?" Lina complained out loud.

"Lina, there could be plenty of reasons." Gourry said to her. "What if he was taking a bath?" He asked seriously.

"That is true Miss Lina; a Supreme elder wouldn't make a good impression if he or she still had soap rings around his or her horns." Amelia added.

"That is assuming the dragon bathed in there dragon form." Zelgadis pointed out.

"That is a good point." Amelia agreed, snuggled in a fuzzy blanket cocoon.

Filia looked at each of them annoyed. "Obviously, the supreme elder had more important things to attend to, when an unfamiliar Gold dragon appears at the Dragon shrine, a companied by a Great black dragon, it would raise suspicions. The supreme elder is not chosen by how strong he is, usually, the supreme elder is elected by who is best to lead the dragons in the temple." She said.

"Oh what a perfect system, how has that been working out for ya?" Xelloss grinned.

Filia glared harshly at the Mazoku, who was sitting cross legged on the couch beside her. He grinned at her with his eyes closed.

"Mr. Xelloss?" Amelia asked.

"Hm?"

"Is it possible for all Monsters to transform in to birds?" she asked.

Xelloss laughed, "Well, yes and no." He said. "Only a high level monster can control their appearance, when a lesser demon is created, they take their original monster form, and only after many years of practice can the lesser demon change what they look like. If you are a general or a priest of one of the Five, or now three Lords of Ruby eyes, your master, creates you in a form from the very beginning, which will be your human form, but you can always change it if you wish."

"So then Sal must be a high level monster." Zelgadis said, as he sat on the couch next to Amelia with his arms crossed.

"Oh my yes, Sal, has been working for Zelas for at least two thousand years I think, so in this future she is almost or over three thousand years old." He said thoughtfully.

Filia stared at him for a second, and then frowned. He was being awfully sharing of information today.

"Well then, I will go ahead and skip to the morning if you don't have any objections." Nexus said.

"Skip away!" Lina said, crossing her legs on top of the table in front of the couch sipping on a root beer float.

"OH!" Gourry shouted suddenly.

"What is it?" Lina asked quickly.

"Well, IF the supreme elder was in the bath, if he was in his human form, would he be dry after he transformed? And if he was then he would had have time to meet the strangers." He reasoned.

Everyone's sweat drop.

"But then again, someone might had to come in to the bath room to inform him-" He continued before Lina hit him in the face with her empty glass.

"Your killing me here, let's just watch." Lina shouted.

_Filia and Daemon stood outside the gates, right before the sun peeked over the horizon, to greet the day. They were both in their dragon forms, with Sal perched on a nearby tree branch. As soon as the sunlight reached the Temple gates, three new dragons appeared in front of them. _

"_Filia Ul Copt, Former Priestess of the Fire Dragon Temple." The leader called. "Why have you come to our Temple today?"_

"_I have come to speak to your supreme elder about issues that deal with the war." Filia spoke._

"_And what are these issues?" The dragon asked._

"_That-" She said smiling, "Is between the elder and myself." So in other words, a secret._

"_Filia Ul Copt, My name is Gieza, I am the grandson of our supreme elder, tell me your reason's to come to our temple and we will decide if we will let you enter or, be forced, to leave." He said clearly._

"_As I had said,-" she held her ground. "I will only discuss this with the supreme elder only."_

"_And would you invite your mate in that equation?" The gold asked._

"_My mate?" Filia asked out loud. "I have no mate."_

"_Then why do you have a black at your side?" Gieza asked brashly._

"_He is my protector." Filia replied unashamed._

"_Are you suggesting that if we refuse your entrance, you are prepared to enter anyway?"_

"_I am suggesting none of the sort, if I am denied, I will continue on to the next temple to seek my answers." She said. _

"_Oh Miss Filia, You have been away from the dragons to long. You don't know anything do you?" The Dragon criticized her, as she forced herself to not glare at him._

"_Perhaps you could educate me then?" She suggested, biting her tongue._

"_Pay attention my fallen angel," The dragon spoke in a clear baritone voice. "During the beginning of the War of Severance, Your precious Monsters began hunting our kind, and took out over eighty percent of our race, and I mean Golds, Dimos, and lesser dragons. Finally, we decided to regroup, and all the temples had been destroyed but this one. Now, all the dragon temples are combined here." He said._

"_What about the Dragons of Kataart Mountain?" She asked in fear. _

"_About twelve years ago, the mountains were seized by the Monster Rufus. He destroyed most of the dragons there, some fled, and some were captured. After that, nobody has gone near the mountains." Gieza said._

"_How horrible." Filia said sadly._

"_Oh yes, I forgot the sensitivity of the subject for you, it must had been a sad day in Monster country, to know the weak dragons escaped the monsters claws." He said. _

_Filia looked up at him determined. "Will I be granted an audience with the supreme elder or not?" She asked._

_The Dragon turned his head to her, and said. "He said he would have an audience with you, but you a forbidden to enter in your dragon form, when you turned your back on the dragon race, you lost your right to defile the ground in your Dragon shell." He said venomously, as he began to glow and transformed in to his human form. _

_He was tall, not as tall as Daemon, with medium wavy gold hair. His eyes were narrow and yellow green, as he glared up at Filia and Daemon, who began to transform. Filia landed right in front of him, her eyes blazing. She tucked her loose bangs behind her pointed ears, and tightened her high ponytail._

_She stood a foot underneath Daemon, and Gieza, was only a head shorter than him. He guided them inside, not talking, when they reached the audience chamber, Filia was astounded. The room was, unbelievably, twice maybe three times the size of the previous one from when she served under the fire dragon. And sitting at the end of the room was-_

"_U-Uncle?" Filia asked in shock, staring at an older dragon. He had graying gold wavy hair, and sharp, golden eyes. He looked down at her with sad eyes. "Filia, it has been a long, long time."_

"Gaaah!" Lina shouted at the screen in front of her. "It's Milgazia!"

"Oh Dear, how unfortunate." Xelloss said frowning.

"What would that be?" Filia asked annoyed.

"I was just thinking I'm going to have that old fossil as an In-law." He said in depression.

"But Mr. Xelloss, you and Filia are not married in the Future." Amelia said.

"All my hopes and dreams are crashing down around me." He said despairing.

"What hopes, what dreams?" Filia asked agitated.

"Oh, woe is me!" Xelloss wept grinning.

Filia rolled her eyes and decided to just ignore him. "I didn't know you all knew uncle Miliz." She said.

"Yeah, we met him before we fought Hellmaster Phibrizzo." Gourry said. "He was funny."

"Yeah, I always liked him too, but sometimes he would scare me." Filia shuttered. "I can't believe all the dragons are forced to live in only one temple." She whispered quietly.

"_Uncle, how did you become supreme elder?" Filia asked walking up near Milgazia._

"_When the fall of the dragons came, I lead all the dragons from the valley of the dragons, we all regrouped here. There were many who were asked to be leader, but they all declined. So I took the job." He said. He looked at her sadly._

"_I am sad that we have to meet like this niece. It seems I will have to slay you." He said standing up walking toward her. Daemon stiffened beside Filia as her eyes widened. When he reached her he put his hand on her shoulder._

"_I was kidding." He said calmly._

_Filia blinked for a second, then her eyebrows twitched. "Now really, Uncle, this situation is very discomforting, you almost gave me heart failure." Filia gasped._

"_Wouldn't you need to have a heart to do that?" Gieza muttered, Causing Filia to turn back and glare at him. _

"_Now Filia, I'm sure you have been through a lot, and I am not going to judge you until I know your side of the story." Milgazia said, motioning a hand to a seat beside him. Filia sat down and stared at him as he sat beside her. _

"_Tell me child, why have you come here?" He asked._

"_I am here as a representative for Lord Beastmaster Zelas." She stated, as Milgazia narrowed his eyes. _

"_So it is true, you have allied yourself with the Beastmaster?" He asked cautiously._

"_The story is a long tale, but yes, I have." Filia stated boldly. Milgazia covered his eyes with his hand and thought silently. Finally he looked up at her pained. "Go on."_

_Filia sighed, now for the hard part. "The monster race is currently searching for the monster Domink, who is still very much alive. They believe he is getting ready to start another uprising against the dragons and the humans." She said. "Currently, Mazoku are searching all over the world for even whispers of the monster, he is acting out to his own accord and the Mazoku lords wish that he is silenced." She said._

"_Isn't the wish of the Monsters for the world's destruction anyway, so why would they care if this Domink guy is trying to start something?" Gieza asked sharply._

"_The Monsters believe it is their mission, to bring the destruction of this world, to be reunited with the Lord Of Nightmares, and they believe the way to do that will be in the resurrection of Lord Shabranigdoh. The Uprising of Domink goes against the monsters wishes." She prompted. "I was the only person that could come to try and talk to the Dragon race, to see what you know about the demon Domink." She said slowly, looking up at Milgazia apprehensively._

"_Unfortunately, we have no information on Domink; we also have been sending our scouts out for the same information." He replied._

_Filia released a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. "I see. Then there is only one other thing I have to ask." She said standing up. "Do you know of any remaining sorcerers?" she asked._

"_Sorcerer was lost over four hundred years ago." Milgazia stated._

"_Well apparently there is one that has cropped up, and causing a lot of trouble." She said._

"_Trouble for the dragons, or the Monsters?" Gieza asked._

"_Both." Filia said. _

"_I think I heard a rumor, about a practicing sorcerer in Zoana." Milgazia said. "But that is only a rumor."_

_Filia's chest filed with excitement, this is the lead she need._

"_Thank you for seeing me today Uncle." Filia said rising from her chair. She walked over to where Daemon was standing. "Your information has been very helpful."_

"_Are you planning on leaving already?" Milgazia asked disgruntled._

"_I have a few other things I have to do, so yes. Thank you for talking to me, even though I am a traitor to your race." She said daringly._

"_I know you Filia," He said. "You're not working with the monsters because you have turned your back on your race, years ago your race turned there back on you, and you had nowhere else to go. I hope that in the future, this wrong will be fixed, and you can return home." He said._

_Filia's eyes filled with tears at his words._

"_T-Thank you uncle. I am happy to know, in my absences, the dragon race has someone as wise, and loving as you looking after them." He smiled at her, as she excused herself out of the room along with Daemon._

"_We are leaving earlier than expected." Daemon mumbled as they quickly began to leave the grounds._

"_I realize that, but it is unsettling here. And I have two leads that I would like to discuss with Lord Zelas immediately." She spoke._

"_Two?" _

_She smiled brightly, so he didn't pick it up._

**Author Note: I almost couldn't get through this chapter, I can't stand keeping Xelloss and Filia apart hahah, and I thought it would be easier, but it's not. IT'S NOT RIGHT!**


	8. The Water Dragon Temple!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Nor do I own Water Buffalo, where is MY water Buffalo?

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 8- The Water Dragon Temple? **

_Filia and Daemon walked pasted the Fire dragon temple gates and Filia felt almost instantly at ease. She thought that leaving the temple of Vrabazard would not have been possible without being attacked. Her mission was to collect information, and Daemon was right, they were leaving a little earlier than planned. But Filia had a lead that she thought Zelas would find very interesting._

_Filia and Daemon continued past the temple in to the nearby forest, when they reached near their camp site from the night before, a robin twirled around them and transformed in to Sal. She looked at them with an uninterested face. "Were leaving earlier than expected."_

"_That is right." A tenor voice, called out, as a tear in the astral plane was made in front of them, as Kurokei stepped out of the pocket of space. He landed beside Sal looking at Filia expectantly, "Now I was all silent and unseen, and I was hoping we were going to stay at the temple so I could spy on the dragons to pick up some hints of our query, but we were only there for less than an hour. You're not very fun Filly-Chan." He mocked._

_Filia glared at the Mazoku in glasses. She understood that they were leaving early, but had none of them noticed the important information they found? Or worst, maybe she was jumping the gun to fast, and should had stayed to validate the information she gathered. Filia bit her lip in hesitation, what if she presented information to Zelas that she couldn't use? What would happen after that, and what would happen to Xelloss if Zelas found Filia inadequate?_

_No! Filia thought, shaking her head, this isn't the time to second guess herself, if her information was wrong they could always come back to the temple. It wasn't like it was going anywhere._

"_Alright, first we travel to Zelas to discuss the information we have collected." Filia said putting her hands together in an upbeat attitude. "Then on to our next destination." She said as they all phased back to Wolfpack Island._

_They stood outside of Zelas room, unknowing if she was already seeing someone; the Mazoku at the door looked at them and sighed. "She is a little frazzled, be prepared." He said, issuing them entrance. The four walked in to the room, where Zelas sat on her throne, smoking a cigarette, and sipping a glass of wine. She looked up at the travelers, her eyes piercing through them. Filia felt an intense fear, as she stared at the Beastmaster's haunting gaze. She hoped her information pleased her._

"_Why have you returned so soon?" She asked in her low menacing voice. _

"_We have attained two pieces of evidence to our mission, plus a few extra things I have picked up." Filia stated._

"_And what would they be?" Zelas asked, taking a deep drink of her red wine. _

"_The dragons claim to have all relocated to the Fire Dragon Temple, they no longer gather at the other remaining temples. Milgazia is now the supreme elder of all the dragons." She began to explain. _

"_Are you sure that this was not just a rouse to keep you from traveling to other temples?" Zelas asked darkly._

_Crap! Filia thought, she didn't even think of that._

"_We were going to investigate that." Daemon replied to the Beastmaster. "We believe that the dragon population was not trusting, and we are going to venture to the other temples to see if there trust should be issued in this delicate situation."_

"_I see, and then please continue, what else did you find out?"_

"_The First thing I learned, was that the only known Sorcerer's that the Dragon's claimed to know of, live in the kingdom of Zoana. The Supreme elder stated that this was only a rumor, but I think it is worth looking in to at the least." Filia stated._

"_I see." Zelas said shortly. "And the other thing?"_

_Filia took a breath, "One of the Dragons mentioned that the Kataart Mountains were attacked twelve years ago, where many of the dragons were captured, and also attacked. He said that the Dragons no longer go near this place, and that the Mazoku Rufus was the one who lead the attack. I wanted to ask permission to speak to Rufus, and also, to search the Kataart mountains. The land's are vast, and perhaps I can find clues to where Domink is." She asked slowly bowing her head._

"_So first you want to go to the mountains, and then you want to seek out the remaining temples?" Zelas asked, crossing her arms looking down at Filia._

"_Yes, Lord Beastmaster." Filia answered._

"_I grant you your quest; however I cannot let you speak to Rufus." She replied. "Last night, it seems, he turn on us. He disappeared before we could ask him more about the sorcerer who attacked him, and he left my palace without my permission." _

_Filia did not know what to say so she remained silent. _

"_Shall we search for him Lord Beastmaster?" Salvia asked with a glint of anger, and bloodlust in her eyes._

"_Thank you Salvia, but no I have others on it now." Zelas eyes softened at the loyal Mazoku._

"_What about the sorcerer in Zoana, would you like us to add that to our to do list?" Kurokei asked grinning._

"_No, I will issue that to another." She said, finishing her wine, not getting a drop on her white attire. "You may leave." She said._

_They Bowed and phased out of the room. Filia sighed in relief as the phased back at the gates of Lord Zelas palace._

"_We shall travel to mountains of Kataart, Filia, can you teleport that far?" Daemon asked in his deep voice._

"_I should be fine." She replied to the older dragon. Salvia stood next to Daemon and looked up at him, "Should I disguise myself Dae?" she asked him._

"_No, in case we need to defend ourselves, you should be prepared for battle." He said to the tiny girl._

"_Hmm, so off we go then." Kurokei smiled at Filia causing her to blanch, she turned her head ignoring him. _

"_Alright." She began to glow gold as she transported the whole group close to the Kataart Mountains, they appeared high above the mountains, and Daemon held her as they floated._

_She looked around, the mountain range was vast, and looked deserted as far as she could see. "If I remember my geography right,-"She pointed north, "Dragon's peak is in that direction." She said. _

_Salvia and Daemon began to fly toward the direction she pointed, as she transformed, flying along with them, as Kurokei flew behind her._

"_Daemon, where did you learn to fly in your human form?" Filia asked the black dragon suddenly._

"_I have learned to use magic over my years working for Lord Zelas. Black dragons, usually don't possess enough magic ability to retain a human form, so I began to learn sorcery many years ago." He said as he flew beside Sal. _

_Filia thought about this, and realized that she really didn't know much about the Dragon. Blacks, commonly only lived for about a thousand years, and she met him when she came to Wolfpack Island. Xelloss said he appeared one day, couple hundred years prior, and was working for Zelas, but he suggested he thought he had been working for her secretly, longer than that. _

_The dark haired dragon barely spoke to her, on a personal basis, though he seemed to be close to Salvia, in some way. Salvia, who had been working for Zelas longer than Xelloss had even been alive, was always unwavering in her bored attitude but she was never disagreeable, if fact, Filia had respect for the tiny monster. But she, like Daemon, was never very open about herself with Filia; therefore she didn't know much about her either. _

"_You seem to be thinking really hard Filly-chan!" Kurokei shouted from behind her, causing her to narrow her eyes. "Do you want me to help illuminate anything you're having trouble figuring out?" he asked grinning mischievously._

_Filia clutched her fist as she continued to fly. That cocky bastard, she thought. She met him about a hundred years ago, and ever since she met him, he had always teased, and bothered her. She couldn't stand him. _

"_Perhaps since we are working together, we can become closer, Filly-chan." He said, in an almost earnest tone. Filia snorted. "Would you please not call me that?" She asked him._

"_Why, I think it's cute." The monster said as if it settled it. _

_They continued to fly until Filia noticed a familiar landscape. "That is it up ahead." She shouted. "Many years ago, there was an entrance to the dimensional warp to see the Clair bible there." Filia said. "But it was sealed many years ago." _

_Filia and her three companions descended close to the ground, and landed. Filia transformed back in to her human form and looked out to see what was waiting for her at dragon's peak. What she saw astounded her. This land use to be the land of those who worshipped the Water Dragon Ragradia, the land of the Water temple. But what they saw was something completely different._

"_How awful." Filia said silently, staring down at the clearing down below where they were perched. There were hundreds of humans, doing all kinds of physical actives as lesser demons were slave driving them._

"_What is this?" Filia asked._

"_Perhaps, this could be what is left of the enslaved humans that were protected by the Dragon race, twelve years ago before Domink took over these lands." Kurokei said smiling down at the view as Filia stared at him in horror._

"_How should we proceed?" Sal asked Daemon._

"_If we rush in blindly, we could lose the chance to see if Domink is down there." He said looking at the view with his green eyes. "I think the best action would be for Filia and I wait while you two assess the situation. Sal, transform in to your bird form, and Kurokei, travel on the astral plane to look around undetected, return when the sun begins to set and tell me what you find." _

_Salvia nodded and changed her form and flew down toward the humans. Kurokei quickly phased away._

"Alright, we should probably skip to a later time to since nothing happens all day." Nexus announced out loud.

"Good, and before that I can use the bathroom!" shouted Gourry jumping over the couch running to the restroom.

"Miss Filia, there are four dragon temples right?" Amelia asked.

"That is right; they are all divided by the four Dragon kings." Filia began to explain. "The Fire Dragon temple is found in the East, which was built for Firelord Vrabazard. The temple Found in the north, at dragon's peak, is for Aqualord Ragradia. To the west is the Tower of Wind, which is under Airlord Valwin, and last to the South is the earth temple of Earth lord Rangort."

"Who is the dragon lord of the temple of the ancient dragons?" Zelgadis asked the Gold.

Filia looked at them and thought silently. "I-I'm not sure."

"Perhaps the ancients built it for the Flare lord." Amelia said thoughtfully.

"I find that highly unlikely." Xelloss said cracking an eye at Amelia. "The temple of the Flare lord is in Sellentia, and besides, the ancient's were know for their pacifist stature, so there temple would stand for a more equal deity."

"Are you suggesting the ancient dragons built a temple for the L-sama?" Lina asked enthralled.

"It could be a possibility." Xelloss said to the red haired sorceress.

Filia thought about the possibility of a Temple of The lord of nightmares, and wonder if it was possible.

Nexus, Filia thought in her head.

Yes master?

Do you know anything about the ancient temple?

The Temple was built four thousand years before the war of monster fall. It was the first temple ever built to praise the life of all things. It wasn't built for any specific lord.

Did the Gold Dragons know about that when they slaughtered all the ancient dragons, she wondered sadly to herself.

"Filia?" Xelloss asked confused as he felt Filia's emotions drop. She looked up at him sadly, "Just thinking."

"About the ancient dragons?" Amelia asked.

Filia nodded her head to the tiny girl and looked out the large window in Nexus magical room.

"Things are never what they seem are they." She said solemnly.

"No, but what in particular are you referring to?" Xelloss asked her.

"The Gold dragons destroyed the Ancient dragons, but I wonder if they ever stopped to wonder who they worshipped, or served under?"

"Maybe the Gold Dragons were so blinded by their reasons for taking the Ancients out, they warped their brains to think the Ancients didn't believe as they did." Zelgadis suggested.

Filia nodded her head at his valid point. "That could be a possibility."

"Anyways, isn't it all in the past now anyway?" Xelloss perked up. "Why don't we ponder on what is happening in the future?" He distracted them while staring at Filia, she unblinkingly stared back.

"Yeah, like how the toilet in there magically empties it's self!" Gourry said excitedly emerging from the restroom. "That is the most useful magic I have ever seen!"

Lina and Amelia followed Gourry in to the restroom to take a look at the amazing, vanishing pot, as they dubbed it, while Zelgadis remained on the sofa, already had seen it. Filia, who was still staring at Xelloss, decided she would ask him the question she had been holding back. She walked up to him looking over him carefully, not prepared to ask him her questions.

"Xelloss," She whispered, "Is it impossible for you to have a relationship?"

"Not in the physical since." He grinned mischievously at her.

"And in the mental?" she asked him.

"Oh my, Filia, you should know that it is impossible for a Monster, who was created to bring chaos, and feed of negative emotions, to feel love." He stated bluntly.

"In this future, you seem to be unaffected by positive feelings." She stated.

"And I already told you I do not believe any of it." He said looking down at her. He saw his purple cat like eyes reflecting in her clear blue ones, this story was affecting her more than he thought it was apparently. Slowly, he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Do you really believe you could love me?" He asked seriously, trying to prove to her that it was all counterfactual.

She stared at him for a few seconds then said, "Do you think you could truly hate me?" she contradicted him.

Xelloss eyes widened at her strange question, his first thought was yes, but then his conscious replied that she was to interesting to hate, he enjoyed the stupid way she got upset so easy, he enjoyed pushing her buttons and making her explode, but that didn't mean he would love her either.

"It depends," He answered. "On the circumstances."

"So then, perhaps, it depends on if I could love you." She said simply.

Xelloss was starting to feel a little uncomfortable at this situation, so he removed his had from her and returned to his seat on the couch, which she flowed him, sitting cross legged on the couch this time. She no longer stared at him, but he could feel her feelings wavering. He placed his hands behind his head and seriously thought about this. If it were true that monsters could endure positive emotions, it would go against everything he was. But, it seemed that this change did not affect the way his future self served his lord.

A future with Filia seemed as farfetched as the idea of him having children, but what if it was true? All of it.

Filia sat there wondering what was going on with her, she was getting use to watching this enchanted screen that she was beginning to feel more accepting to the silly idea of her with Xelloss. The future version of him was different though, he seemed, well, nicer. Perhaps the teasing and the prejudice between them had caused them to never fully see each other.

Filia shook her head, shaking such out there thoughts out. Whatever the Future holds, she will decide it, so even if this future was real, she could chose to make it real or not. She did not love Xelloss. She only needed to keep it that way.

After The trio returned from the restroom, where the vanishing pot was broken from the three trying to see what kinds of things they could make vanish, and got a vase and towel stuck inside it, everyone got situated to continue the story, as Filia sighed, her mind in a void of unanswered questions.

_Filia stood near the tall tree, where she had hidden under all afternoon waiting on Sal and Kurokei to return from their investigations. She was restless and hungry. She had thought all day on what she needs to accomplish before she could return to her family and Xelloss. It had only been a day and she felt like she had had a hole ripped out of her chest. It was a different feeling of sorrow when Xelloss left on his missions. She knew that he would come back eventually, and she always had Odilia and Val by her side. Without here children, she would never had made it all of this time._

_She was not afraid to be lonely, it was more like she was afraid not knowing. Where they safe, were they taking care of each other?_

_Filia paced back and forth as she thought of Val and Odile, sad that she was sent out right after she got Xelloss back. She missed him so much when he was gone, and six weeks felt like an eternity to her, without him at least. _

"_Filia, settle down." Daemon said quietly. "You have been pacing back and forth all evening." He said._

"_Daemon, have you ever been in love?" Filia blurted out without thinking. She covered her mouth in embarrassment._

_He raised an eyebrow at her then replied. "Who's to say I am not now?" he asked her. She stared back at him wondering what he meant by that. Suddenly Kurokei phased in front of her catching her off guard, causing her to fall backwards._

"_Oh goody! I knew I could make you fall for me on this mission." He replied gleefully._

_Filia jumped up furiously, with her mace in hand as she knocked the demon a mile away._

"_STUPID MO-" She began to shout, until a pair of warm hands wrapped around her mouth. Surprised she turned around to see Sal glaring at her._

"_Do you want us to get caught Filia?" she asked agitated. _

"_No." Filia whispered. _

"_Well then, now that we're all here," Kurokei said phasing beside Filia again smiling, let's discuss what we found down there."_


	9. Ambush? To Save Is To Lose!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I did just get a copy of the new Maroon 5 cd. Loves its!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

Also, this chapter is a bit dark, just to warn you.

**Chapter 9- Ambush? To Save, Is To Lose? **

"_Humans, Dragons, even elves?"Filia asked in fear._

"_That is what I saw." Salvia replied sitting down on the ground next to Filia and Daemon. "The Monster's have control over them they are following there ever order. There are several Dimos dragons, and a clan of elves to the west of the Peak, and the rest is made up of humans."_

"_What about the monsters?" Daemon asked the short girl staring at her fiercely. She stared back up at him her grey Mazoku eyes unblinking. "They worked them each ruthlessly, till they had no energy, then feed them feeble amounts of food, then left them to sleep on the dirt. They seem to find different ways to torture them down there, the negative energy is,-" She shuddered lightly, in pleasure, "Overwhelming."_

"_So are you thinking this is some sort of monster feeding ranch or something like that?" Filia asked disgusted, watching the Demon as she twirled her short hair around her fingers. "It's hard to say, I could not pin point a leader to see what their motives are." Salvia said turning her head, looking out to the sunset._

"_So then, what did you find?" Daemon asked Kurokei, who was sitting by himself watching patiently. The monster grinned back at him. "Well I saw pretty much the same as Sally saw." He said receiving a dirty look from both Salvia, and Daemon. "Not a glance at any kind of leader, I assume he is inactive at the ranch at this present time. Nor, did I see any clues to help our stony friend." He finished ask he pushed his sliding glasses up the bridge of his nose._

_Salvia looked up a Daemon with a serious face. "What do you want to do?" she asked the dragon._

"_I assume, Filia will not ignore this." He stated, glancing up at the gold dragon. She met his gaze with a determined nod. "Then our best bet would be to wait till dawn, if the workers were worked as hard as you say, they will have no energy for a riot, or to escape. We will go down there tomorrow, Filia, you will transport all the slaves away from here, somewhere safe, like a village of some sort, then return and we will take down the remaining demons." He thought out loud. _

"_Only one problem, there Dae-chi,-" Kurokei intervened, "To transport that many people would be taxing on someone like Filia, especially if it were on multiple trips, so we would have to gather everyone to one spot, then send her with all of them at once." He said wagging his finger at them. "But to do that, we would have to do something to gather all of the slaves, and keep the monsters at bay."_

"_We will need a diversion for the monsters, while someone gathers the humans." Sal stated to the group. She looked at each of them. "One person to gather everyone, the two to keep all the monsters occupied while Filia prepares to transport them, then when she leaves we will go on full offense, until she returns." She said._

"_Sal, you will gather all the slaves with Filia, while Kurokei and I hold off the monsters, as soon as everyone is gathered, both of you transport away, that way if Filia is not strong to return, you can bring her back. Then you will help us take down the rest of the monsters." Daemon said as his green eyes looked over Sal and Filia._

"_It sounds like we have a winner." Kurokei grinned._

"_I agree." Salvia said with a bored look on her face._

"_Then we should wait till dawn." Daemon concluded, Standing up stretching his legs, "Filia, you look tired. You should get some rest."_

"I can go ahead and skip this part, nothing really happens after that." Nexus voice filled the room as the magic screen froze. "And pretty soon, we will need to see what dear Xelloss is up to." He informed.

"Nexus, if you know where this journey is going, wouldn't It be easier to just TELL US?" Lina asked glaring down at the enchanted novel with her cherry orbs.

"Now, now Miss Lina, I am a record, I can show you the path, even I might miss some important details, without going over the WHOLE story." The book defended its self.

"Did you ever think us mere humans might not live through the WHOLE story?" Lina asked impatiently.

"Miss Lina!" Amelia suddenly shouted from the couch, her fist clinched as she jumped up from where she was sitting. "How can you sit there and pretend you are not interested in what will happen to the slaves at the camp, and how this Rufus will be cured so we can save poor Mr. Zelgadis, and more so,-" She said her eyes twinkling, "To see Miss Filia and Mr. Xelloss be reunited by the justice of love and happiness."

"Y-your really getting into this aren't you Amelia?" Lina said fearfully at the tiny princess.

"Of course miss Lina, and don't deny you aren't either, I saw you watching the screen." Amelia repied. "You were holding your breath and everything."

Lina blushed lightly, getting embarrassed, "Whatever, anyway I still don't see what this has to do with the Monster Rufus." She said turning her head from Amelia, pouting.

"The dragon Daemon shows skill in battle strategy and warfare." Zelgadis complemented, from his seat on the couch, his legs crossed. The gold haired swordsman looked at him curiously. Zelgadis sighed, "That means he is good at planning." The Chimera explained to him.

"What a strange talent."

"Yes Gourry, It would seem strange to you." Zelgadis replied cracking a grin.

Filia sat on the couch, her feet tucked underneath her as she stared at the screen in wonder. Xelloss stared at her behind his closed eyes. She was remaining silent, and that was not something he was use too.

"Filia?"

"Hmm?" She replied to him, looking up at him with her clear blue eyes, looking at him with wonder.

"What are you thinking about so seriously?" He asked her smiling, crossing his legs.

"Well-" She began, removing her gaze from the monster deciding to make another cup of tea, pouring it as spoke. "There is something that has been bothering me."

"Oh?" He asked her curious about her option to the fake future.

"Why would Lord Zelas not know about the monsters at Dragons peak? Perhaps she already knew that the monster camp was there. And also, wouldn't she have known that the dragon temples were deserted already." She said. "So why send me to the temple to gather information, if not to confirm what she already knows?" she asked.

"Why do you think she would do that?" He asked her puzzled by her questions.

She took a sip of her tea, "I do not know much about Lord Zelas, but from what I gather from my future self, she is someone I respect, therefore she would have morals that I would deem respectable." She stated staring into her teacup. "So, it may be that Lord Zelas knew that the slaves were indeed at the Dragon's peak, and knowing I'm going there, indirectly rescue the slaves at the camp. That is assuming she knows my character and knowing that I would do something about that situation." She reasoned, placing her cup on the table, not looking up at him.

"That could be a possibility." Xelloss replied, grinning.

"But then why, would she keep you and I separated on this mission?" Filia stated out loud.

"There was probably somewhere more important she need my services." Xelloss said smugly.

Filia snapped out of her somber attitude and glared up at him. "Of course." She snapped, smacking his hand as it reached out toward her steaming teapot.

He pouted and cracked an eye, "Fi-chan! I'm parched."

She snorted in disgust and rolled her eyes. "I swear, trying to be serious with you is like trying to teach a donkey to waltz." She muttered angrily.

"Filia that is ridiculous, why would you teach a donkey to waltz?" he giggled her, interested in her explanation.

"That's not the point!" she shouted her face puffing up at him angrily..

"But you're the one that brought it up. Why say it if it doesn't make an ounce of sense?" He grinned playfully enjoying her annoyance and embarrassment.

"It makes perfect sense, it's not my fault that a stupid monster like you can't figure it out." She huffed, scooting down the couch to get away from him, which just resulted her being between the edge of the couch and her least favorite purple haired trickster.

"Are we ready?" Lina asked from her new position on that couch, now eating a bag of sweet popped corn, sharing it with her protector. Amelia nodded her head excitedly, sharing her fuzzy blanket with the blushing Zelgadis.

Filia glared at Xelloss as he continued to stare at her happily. "Yes please continue." He said, more to Filia than Nexus.

_The sun was bright as it reflected on Filia's golden hair, which was now in a high ponytail, braided down to her calves. She was crouched by the entrance of the Dragon's peak, waiting for the signal to rush in to the camp to liberate the slaves of the camp. She kept herself hidden as she waited. Salvia was to convince the prisoners that the monster race wanted to speak to all of the slaves, and after they were all gathered in front of her, Filia was going to jump in and transport them all to safety. Her and Salvia created a safe point for her to go to, where Salvia would arrive to help return them back to the mountain. _

_Slowly all the slaves, filed in front of her, where Salvia was waiting. The monster had a menacing look on her face as she glared down at the miserable convicts were filed beneath her. Filia couldn't feel there sadness or depression, but the look on their faces was plenty enough for Filia to realize Salvia was having an over dose of negative energy._

"_Worthless humans, and scum before me," Salvia yelled at the crowed. "I am the worthy gate keeper of Lord Beastmaster, who sent me here to see the state of the lowlife gathered on this sacred land." She spoke as the lesser demons watched her in awe._

"_I must say I am unimpressed. The moral here is to high for me, it makes me sick." She said in a low voice, glaring her cold eyes at the crowd before her. "Now I want you all to join hands, and if anyone doesn't part take in this, I will personally kill your family, and the person's next to you, right in front of everyone." She shouted vigorously. Everyone complied combining hands. Filia quickly rose, her time coming at hand._

"_Now I want everyone to squeezes in to a tight circle." Sal demanded looking down at the crowed as Filia emerged in to the crowed, watching the gold slide in to the center. This was it, now to only distract the monsters long enough, she put her hands up in the air, which immediately, a fireball was shot past her and the monster guards, exploding in the mountain side near where they were standing. This caused everyone's attention to be drawn, staring at the wreckage, giving Filia the time she need to pull the crowed in to a golden light, and vanished._

_Filia and the crowed landed in the outskirts of a town far away; she felt completely exhausted from transporting so many. She quickly rose above the crowd which was confused looking up at her in fear._

"_Everyone listen to me." She shouted weakly. "My name is Filia Ul Copt, and I have transported you from Dragons peak, we are near the town of Krimzon, you have been set free." She shouted at the crowed. "Please hurry and get out of here, someone might be here to follow you." She said to them._

_The crowed looked at her apprehensive till a woman with dark hair and rose colored eyes yelled out, "What kind of trick is this?" Others agreed with her staring up at Filia._

"_This isn't a trick you're all free." She shouted irritably._

"_This is just another plot to get our hopes up, then to cause them to come crashing down to the monsters amusement." A man shouted up, causing angry jeers to rise from the crowed._

_Filia stared at them all in disbelief. "You're wrong; you all need to get out of here."_

_The lady with rose colored eyes walked up to Filia her eyes blazing. "How could we believe you after so much has happened to us."_

_Filia looked at the crowed of distrusting eyes and sighed. "I understand it must be hard, but I swear it is the truth. I am a golden dragon, not a monster, I have come in search of the monster Domink to help end the war between the Monsters and Dragons." Filia said to the crowed._

"_Then why have the dragons ignored us for so many years?" A voice shouted from the crowd._

"_I did not know about this to yesterday." She said looking down at them. "Or I would have come sooner."_

_Sal, appeared suddenly, her arm torn off, showing her astral sprit. "Filia, we need to go, it is getting bad, the monsters are on a rampage, they have been exposed to the negative energy of the camp to long, their too strong." She said. Filia nodded her head and took her hand._

"_Everyone listen, go, and get away from here," she looked at them all, "Good Luck!" she shouted as she and Sal transported back to the peak. The sight that waited them was a bloody one. Daemon was in a battle with four of the monsters, blood leaking from him in several spots. Sal immediately joined his side taking half the load._

_Filia removed her mace from her garter and began to fight the monsters. Her laser breath seemed to work well against the group._

_As Filia fought, there was a loud scream from Sal as Filia turned she watched the Mazoku was attacked by an astral attack by a monster's attack, as black miasma went everywhere. _

"_Sal!" Filia shouted in horror, dropping her guard, causing a sharp pain hit her head from the left side, causing her to be knocked down in to the mountain side. _

_Daemon charged at the monster that took out Sal, and finished him in one attack, fury poured from him as he unleashed an attack on to the remaining monsters. Filia watched him in fear as he took out the Monster that attacked her, quickly moving to the next one, and when he finished, all the monsters were gone._

_He stood there, agony painted on his face as he looked around the area for any hiding Mazoku, his face twisted in pain and fury. When he could not find anybody he slowly turned to walk to Filia, then suddenly, a beam of energy, ripped through him, causing him to bleed everywhere, as he fell over. Filia looked at him in horror as the attack continued toward Filia, shooting through her chest. It all happened so fast Filia was stunned and confused._

_The pain Filia felt surged though her whole body, she placed her hands gently on her chest where the attack had pierced through her chest. She began to choke up blood as she fell to her knees, as she heard light footsteps approach from behind; her vision became hazy as someone walked around her._

"_Oh my, Filia, how easy that was." A tenor voice whispered in her ear. "I knew the sight of you covered in blood would be a beautiful picture."_

_Filia tried to say something, but only gurgled on the blood that was gathering in her throat, she began choking more. _

"_Ah-Ah Filly, we can't have you die yet." Kurokei whispered in her ear, lifting her up in his arms as she was defenseless and unable to protest._

"_The monster and Dragon were too easy, none of you suspected that I was working for Domink this whole time." He said loudly, laughing in glee at the feelings of horror and hatred coming off Filia._

"_Oh yes, Lord Beastmaster had no idea, I have been secretly passing information to Domink from Wolfpack mountain for many years, but while you were under the safety of Zelas, and her brat, I could not touch you. How frustrating that was." He said sourly looking down at her glossed over blue eyes. He grinned manically staring at her, covered in blood._

"_Of course you were not what we were after, our prey is smaller, and cuter, but she resembles you a lot." He taunted as Filia's eyes widened in horror, tears began to flood out of her eyes. Kurokei grinned at her as she shook with fear._

"_M-monster," She choked out spilling blood from her mouth. He grinned wider at her holding her tighter, "Oh how you amuse me Filly, I really do wish to keep you, of course I would have to take that annoying priest out to do that, and unfortunately, I am not strong enough to do that." He sighed sadly wiping blood from her face, moving her bangs with his finger tips._

"_I was sent to kill you, but I seem to be enjoying this too much, so I will give you one chance Filly, Once chance to show the scary bad Mazoku that the gods are stronger and I will let you live." He grinned happily._

_Filia stared at him in shook, thoughts of her children running through her head, she picked a memory she treasured and thought about it as happily as she could, causing Kurokei to laugh._

"_Oh no, I'm sorry but that won't work on me." He grinned. "I know you and Xelloss discovered Monsters can feed of positive emotions, and I must say, it was far easier for me to master then that second rate, monster." He grinned. "Of course your negative emotions taste much more delicious. Now, I know another little trick you and Xelloss learned." He said tapping her nose with his finger playfully. Abruptly, his hand began to swell with monster energy, as he brought it to her wound healing it slowly. _

"_For a monster to care enough about another, to not wish them to die, there miasma can have healing property's, but if you don't do it right, the one they are trying to heal can get poisoned by it, causing them to remain unconscious for several days and cause temporary memory lose, isn't that right Filia, and seeing as I don't want you running to warn anyone about me, or my plan to get a certain gold haired monster child, it sounds like the perfect way for me to take you out of action for the next couple of days, and hopefully, when you are better, that annoying Xelloss will be gone, and I will have you all to myself." He grinned as the miasma continued to flow inside of her, grinning wickedly at her. _

"_Goodnight Filly." He laughed as she pasted out in his arms, then _phased_ away with her. _


	10. Masters, Monsters, and Morons? Oh My!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I am going on vacation in two days YAHOO!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

**Chapter 10- Masters, Monsters and Morons? Oh My? **

"Oh, poor Mr. Daemon and Miss Salvia!" Amelia cried out in horror as she quickly stuffed two large tacos in to her gaping mouth. She hummed happily while wiping her mouth clean delicately, and then began to cry out again.

They had paused the screen and were now eating dinner due to almost everyone's complaint, which Nexus provide for them.

They all sat at a large table, with all kinds of futuristic food which would reappear as they ate it, Lina and Gourry devoured everything in sight, comparing the different foods. Zelgadis calmly sat secretly enjoying his french onion soup and bread, while Filia picked at her meal.

Xelloss ate a large piece of chocolate cake, indulging in the seven layers of awesomeness. He grinned to himself as he dipped every bit in a whipped cream, and swallowed the sweet treat. Gourry looked down at Nexus while he chewed on cheesy noodles and asked the book suddenly, "Hey Nexus, can I ask you a question?"

"That was a question jellyfish!" Lina pointed out, while pointing her fork in his unattended cheesy noodle dish.

"What is it Gourry?" Nexus voice came from the dusty old book.

"Well you're a monster, and you're stuck in that book." He thought aloud concentrating.

"Yes. . ." Nexus replied urging the blonde along, hoping this was not his question.

"Well, first if we were to find a way for Zel to return to his true form, wouldn't you be able to return you to your true form?" He asked.

"No, that would not work, I was sealed in this book by the Lord of Nightmares, only she can remove me from this binding, And that would not happen because then I would not be able to do her bidding that she had planned for me."

As he said this Filia stared down at the book with suspicious eyes, which were not the only calculated eyes staring at the novel, Xelloss just didn't realize his own thoughts were shared with the dragoness.

_If that is true, then why would he be created for Filia?_

"So then you couldn't be released from the book?" Gourry said again.

"No Gourry, I cannot. The cure that we are going to discover will not be able to release me from being bound to this book." Nexus said.

"Oh, then I had one other question then." Gourry said looking down at the book. "How do you eat?"

Suddenly, everyone fell out of their chairs. "WHY would you even THINK that?" Lina yelled at him, hitting him over the head. "Ow, But Lina, aren't you curious, monsters feed off emotions right, so how could he still be alive if he was stuck in this deserted library for however long?"

_Oh my, _Xelloss thought to himself, the witless wonder had shining moment of brilliance, what a very valid question to the mysterious book. If this book really was just sitting around this vacant temple, since the dragons had been slay during the battle of Darkstar, how could it still be able to keep on to its life-force?

"I feed like any other Mazoku, off the emotions of those around them." He replied bored with the man's questions. He was full of the biggest secrets the world could want to ask, and he was interrogated about how he ate, how annoying.

Xelloss smirked evilly to himself. _Ah-ha_ _your story is not adding up. _

"Just a second now,-" Filia said, placing her fork down by her untouched plate, "If that is true, how could you survived so long if you were here, alone for so long?" She asked him looking at him suspiciously.

"I have incredible range." The book stated, overlooking her question. Filia stared down at the book disbelieving, causing of Xelloss eyebrow to raise, perceptive today eh Filia?

"Yeah well, I guess you're getting your overdue meal from us then, huh Nexus?" Lina said grinning slyly at the book. _Lina too huh? Xelloss grinned happily as his companions backed the shady book in to the corner. _

"Mr. Nexus is that true?" Amelia asked fearfully, "Is that why you're showing us the demise of Mr. Daemon, Miss Salvia, and the scary abduction of Miss Filia?" She asked her tear balls dangling from eyelids, as she sniffed loudly.

"Uh, no. These events will help you in understanding things you are yet to see." The book said, annoyed at Amelia's behavior. Zelgadis placed his spoon on his bowl, finishing his soup. "Amelia, knowledge is more powerful when you have every aspect of it, if we were to just obtain it, then our answers would just foil faster." He explained to her. She looked up at him, quickly wiping the tears from her face.

"Well, if you say so Mr. Zelgadis." She smiled sweetly up at him, making him redden slightly looking away from her.

"I still can't believe that a monsters miasma can heal a dragon." Lina said breaking the awkward moment between the two.

"Yes, that is something Filia and Xelloss discovered right before I-" The Mazoku paused, "Told them how to do it." He finished carefully. Xelloss looked up and noticed Filia was looking at him with a look that said, _he wasn't going to say that, was he? _

"Of course the first time Xelloss tried this, Filia indeed got poisoned, but after she recovered, Xelloss perfected his technique. Then Filia tried to do the same to Xelloss, with holy energy. But-" He said, "She could not."

"Wait, so holy magic can heal a monster now too?" Lina shouted, with a chicken leg hanging out of her mouth.

"Yes, for a monster to love and care for their enemy enough to wish they don't die, that would go against everything the monsters stand for, so a lot of _feeling _goes in to the spell, which could be harmful to the monster. But once a monster can do it, it gets easier every time, but for a God, the feeling of hatred is what heals the monster. The god has to have so much hatred that they wish the Monster to die, which is how they tap into the energy that would heal the monster."

"Which is why Filia wouldn't be able to do it?" Zelgadis said nodding his head. "By the time she try's the spell, she is already in love with Xelloss, so she can't force pure, true hatred for him to heal him." He deduced.

"But then, how could Kurokei heal me?" Filia asked suddenly.

The room when silent for a second, while they thought about a way to answer. The obvious answer was because he loved her, but that could not be true, there was only one freaky monster who would defy every law a monster set to piss everyone off, and the idea that he just picked up the technique was bogus.

"Perhaps,-" Xelloss said in a low menacing voice, "Filia slept with him?"

Filia threw Mace-sama at Xelloss like a dart, getting a bull's-eye on the grinning Mazoku causing him to fall out of his seat on to the ground. Filia stood up blushing angrily. "That could not be it at all."

"Definitely not." Nexus said with cynicism. "My master, has never laid with anyone other than-"

Filia screamed loudly holding her head in her arms. "Don't finish that sentence please dear Cepheid!"

Everyone quickly finished their meal, and then gathered back in to the room to resume the story, now fed and ready to continue the story.

Filia grabbed a fuzzy blanket and cuddled in a ball on the couch, where of course, Xelloss followed and sat down besides her. She glared up at him, snuggling deeper in to the blanket daring him to try and share like Amelia and Zelgadis appeared to be doing.

Xelloss chuckled and wrapped his arm around the protesting dragoness. "Honestly Fi-chan, when you challenge me with those glares of yours, it's almost like your begging for it." He laughed as he pulled her close to him.

"If you can't stand me, why would you do this?" she said angrily to him.

"That is easy; it's much more amusing this way!" He said lightly, smiling up at the screen.

_You want me to send him to a black void Master? _Nexus spoke out for only Filia to hear. She snorted, sitting as far away from Xelloss as she could, in his embrace. _That wouldn't be near happy enough to hurt him. _She thought to him.

"Now we will find out if Miss Filia is going to be ok." Amelia said eagerly, sitting closely to the warm Chimera. Now that it was getting darker outside the drapes weren't pulled back all the way. The sun was setting and the glow of the sun was reflecting off the snow, making it really pretty to look at. The room was a tad chilly, but the blankets were warm, and under the screen there was a fireplace lit up, keeping Lina and Gourry toasty.

"Actually, you're going to have to wait for that Miss Amelia, you see Filia will not awaken for a couple days and there are a few events you will need to witness before that, so first, we are going to follow Xelloss from the evening of Filia's departure." Nexus spoke, the screen filling with Xelloss.

"Oh Dear, I feel so embarrassed." Xelloss cried out covering his face with one arm, while the other was still wrapped around Filia.

"Maybe you would feel better if you left the room then?" Filia said venomously.

"But you know I can't." He grinned at her, dropping his child act.

"Anyways, maybe this will enlighten us on why Xelloss is so, Xelloss." Lina grinned excited to find something to exploit the trickster priest.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Zelgadis nodded his head wearily.

_Xelloss stared at Filia, wide eyed as she looked over the children and him. Her face was a weak mask that was holding in the fear and anxiety that was harbored beneath her beautiful and weak facade. He did not want her to go, nor did he want her to disobey his master. She was his, in the eyes of the Mazoku, Which meant she was hers. Zelas could send her away forever if she had wished it, but she was a very generous Master, at least when it came to him, as long as he kept her happy._

_And Xelloss wished nothing more than to keep his master happy._

_Filia leaned forward, looking at them with her alluring face and smiled sweetly at them all. "I love you all, I will return successful." She stated as she turned around, and began to walk away from him._

_What does that mean, she will return successful? Was this it, would she walk out that door, his raging dragon, to never see her face again?_

"_Filia," He spoke out causing her pain to reach him, before she turned to look at him, her façade breaking. "Yes."_

_He looked at her, and how delicate she seemed, where she was going, he would not be there to protect her. She could be at the mercy of any enemy she faced. Mercy. . ._

"_If you are in a situation, where your life is in danger, do not hesitate to slay your enemy. I know how you are, and you're merciful to a fault. You will return to us, and you will return whole." He said staring trying to hold back the urge of taking her right there, his desires and possessiveness peaked as she stared in to his eyes. Her clear blue eyes reflecting her struggle to move forward to serve his master._

_After a long moment she nodded her head, and turned and walked out the door, and then she was gone._

_Xelloss stared at the door for a few seconds, convincing himself she would not be back. Then smiled brightly and turned to his children._

"_Well then! I think it is time for you to return to your room Odile, didn't you have an important test to study for tomorrow?" He grinned down at the saddened child. She looked up at him sadly, and then a fire ignited in her eyes as she stood up to look at him._

"_Yes father, I'm going to show Haleron that I can't be stopped when I am determined to follow through with something! I will do my best, and my best will win the prize I seek!" she shouted eagerly. Xelloss chuckled, taken back from his brash daughter and her fortitude. _

"_Well then I guess this is goodbye again Val," Xelloss said, to the rising teal haired man, he placed his hand on his shoulder, who returned the gesture. "You take care of yourself." Val whispered._

_Xelloss grinned brightly at him. "Don't I always?"_

_Xelloss lead Odilia out of the room, into her bed room, where Haleron was still sleeping on the table Filia flung around earlier, he laughed darkly to himself remembering._

"_Are you really leaving now father?" Odilia asked sadly, knowing there was nothing she could do to make him stay. Xelloss bent down and kissed her on the bridge of her tiny nose. Even though she was twelve, her four year old body sometimes made him think of her as a little girl still sometimes._

"_Yes dear, promise you will take care of yourself while I am away?" _

_Odilia looked at him sadly. "We do not make promises remember father." She said to him smartly. He nodded his head at her impeccable memory. He had once had to leave on a mission, and she asked him to promise to return, and he told her, as he told Filia many years ago, that he did not make promises._

"_Then can you try to the best of your ability's to take care of yourself?" He asked her. She nodded her head, and then hugged him around the neck._

_After they broke apart, Zelas entered his mind, __**Xelloss, come to me**_.

_Xelloss patted Odilia's head and waved goodbye with his goofy smile then phased to his Master._

_Zelas stood in her room, with her usual cigarette, and her sultry body crossed, at the legs and arms. He bowed down to her, his master. _

"_Xelloss you will begin your new mission as of now." She said to him in her low voice. "Rise my child."_

_He looked up at her as she took a drag of her cigarette. "You know,-" She breathed out a cloud of fumes, tasting his worry for Filia "She has been getting better at her training, she took my head clean off today in training." She stated, staring at the ember at the end of her cigarette._

"_I find that rather unbelievable, Lord Beastmaster?" Xelloss grinned widely at his master. _

"_So did I, she took me by surprise, but Daemon healed me quickly with his energy, but anyways I'm just saying-" She said taking one more drag of the cigarette before tossing it in the ashtray, "So then on to business." She said her golden eyes looked at him darkly._

"_This Rufus is a venomous snake in my garden. He is working for Domink, I know he is. I need you to interrogate him immediately, find out all you can. And when that is done, we need to find this sorcerer that cursed him, and put an end to that, we will put Rufus in solitary until we can find a way to cure him, so we have a way to protect ourselves in the future."_

"_Do you think he is working alone?" Xelloss asked her. She looked at him with a knowing look, but said nothing. _

_Xelloss patiently awaited her replied, until she said simply, "What did Filia tell you of her mission?"_

"_Nothing, she merely asked me what you told me, and then informed me that I could not know anymore than what I was told." He replied as he placed his hand on the red orb of his staff watching her expression stay blank._

"_Hmm, what a good girl she is." Zelas said, taking a sip of her wine. "How unfortunate for you-" she said, causing him to hold his breath._

"_To be kept in the dark." She finished her glass of wine, and then looked up at him. "You may go, and Xelloss, stay clear of Filia, direct order." She said. "It could mess up everything I have planned. And I will not have you spoil it."_

_Xelloss nodded to her, "I will not cross her path intently, master." _

"_Good, now get." She waved her hand at her favorite._

_Xelloss phased to the east of wolf pack island, where Rufus was to be resting from his long journey. He walked in to the room, where he witnessed something very strange._

_Rufus, who was covered from head to toe in stone, stood next to a man with wavy blond hair. They had a collection of items and seemed to be trading them._

"_Oh dear, what do we have here?" Xelloss asked grinning at the duo._

_The blonde male immediately went in to offense and sent a wave of holy magic at him, which Xelloss dodged easily, and laughed as he went after the Gold quickly, who was protecting Rufus. _

_The gold must have known that he was no match for Xelloss, and quickly grabbed a hold of Rufus and phased away. Then his voice filled the room, projecting from the astral plane._

"_Xelloss Metallium, the Mazoku Domink formally challenges you. He currently has a plan in motion involving you and those close to you. He wants to see what you can do, so good luck in stopping him." The voice laughed out then vanished. _

_Xelloss looked around the room, searching for any clues to whom the mysterious Gold Dragon was, and when he found nothing he grinned. So Domink was also having Gold dragons to his ranks. If there were any more dragons working for the Mazoku, they would need to set a rank for them._

_He quickly phased to inform Zelas of his discovery._


	11. Xelloss in Zoamelgustar Land!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I Did just got back from Vacation and excited to start writing again!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

Also, I have been really excited about getting to this chapter, and I hope I didn't rush in to it, the story has a tendency to jump from serious to silly really quickly, and I hope, since I just started writing, I can grow from this and future stories flow better. ( Crazy Face )

Notes to Reviewers,

_**Silvia**__, I'm really happy you're enjoying the story so far! Since I can't send you a comment back I will just replied to you in my chapters. I have a pretty good idea where I am going with everything, so if you guessed right I want to know, lol I'm curious about your theory's so when I am finished I would love to hear what you thought! I was on vacation so that is why I haven't been updating this past week but now I am home and I can't wait to continue with this story._

_And to everyone else who has reviewed, a huge shower of sparkly rainbow colored stars for all of you, your reviews make me really happy!_

_And now back to your weekly broadcast of PttF!_

**Chapter 11 – Xelloss in Zoamelgustar Land?**

_Oh dear._

_Xelloss sighed as he looked out at the large city of Zoana, taking in the empire's odd fashion and overly tacky décor. The kingdom was known as one of the most prospering kingdoms around, a rare site for any traveler, aside from its tasteless appearances. _

_Statues, murals and bust all over the kingdom paraded the "Monstrous Lord, Zoamelgustar" in display at every store, building and home. It was a in the history of the town, that the "Great Lord" Awoken over a thousand years ago and protected the Queen of Zoana, then brought great prosperity and wealth to the kingdom, and protected it from invasion._

_Xelloss knew this was all a farce. The kingdom made a turn for good after the Queen met her husband, then years later, together they lead the kingdom out of dept and drove it to the land it was today, and the reason the kingdom hardly ever got attacked was because the kingdom had the highest level of black magic from around. Of course the practice of sorcery and magic was lost many years ago._

_Lord Zelas informed Xelloss this morning that she had heard a whisper that there was a practicing sorcerer in Zoana. So he was sent to investigate to find this proclaimed sorcerer. He chuckled to himself. Any sorcerer that would be around these day's would be a hollow ghost of the mage's of the past. _

_Xelloss walked down the street of the city looking for any kind of leads to his crusade, smiling with his eyes closed. In his long life of working for Zelas, he found he had incredible luck finding what he was searching for quickly. And after a whole day of searching the streets for information, he found none._

_Most of the town's people were looking forward to the Lord Zoamelgustar festive that would be taking place in two days and the Kingdom was in an uproar getting everything prepared. Xelloss wandered the streets looking for any clues or hints to magic and found none. He amused himself with the thought of Filia and her seeing how much the world had changed since she had been staying at Wolfpack Island. _

_Almost a millennia ago, when the Mazoku barrier was destroyed, and technology began to spread around the world. The growth of the technology grew from weapons to many bigger things, and the human race along with the technology grew. Humans today were far better educated then they were in the old days. _

_Only a few places in the world were free from technology, mostly any homestead of Monsters and Dragons, but Xelloss had a hidden suspension that his Mistress had a hidden room where she stored her little toys. So if it was hidden, Filia would have never seen it. She had been sheltered from the world for many years. He laughed to himself, imagining if she were to just wake up one day in the midst of a technological town, having no clue what was going on around her. _

_Xelloss smile slowly faded as he looked around the large city of Zoana. It was time for business. Then as if on cue there was a loud shout from behind him._

"_Look out!" _

_Xelloss turned his head to see a small girl with flaming red hair up a way's rolling around on a pair of shoes with wheels. The girl had a black backpack on, and she just barely missed running in to a man who just walked out of a coffee shop. The redhead bowed to the man she had almost hit and resumed to roll toward Xelloss. _

_Xelloss sighed to himself, of course she wasn't yelling at him, he was currently invisible so the human could not have seen him. He chuckled to himself, serves him right for getting distracted by thinking of Filia. He calmly stood in the path of the young girl who was coming his way. _

_She got closer and closer to him, her face serious as she looked around with her sea green eyes, with her spirally curled red hair bouncing behind her. She looked like she was about ten, maybe younger. She held on to the lose straps of her backpack as she rolled around locals._

_Xelloss smiled as she came real close to him, as she was about to roll right through him. When he peeked an eye open to stare at her, he noticed her eye locked on to his, and right before she reached him, she veered to the right, shifting her balance, turning around him, and rolled backwards after she passed him, looking at him quizzically, before she turned back around and continued to roll away._

_Interesting, Xelloss thought grinning to himself. Perhaps he was lucky after all, the giggled to himself as he followed the girl. _

"I can't take all of this silence." Lina shouted loudly, staring up at the screen. "How are we suppose to know what he is thinking, he is smiling one minute then he is frowning. It's annoying!"

"Not as annoying as knowing that he has not rushed to Miss Filia's sided after she was kidnapped by the horrible Mister Kurokei!" Amelia yelled, glaring at Xelloss, who was sitting by a fuming Filia, as he was braiding random pieces of her hair.

"Why are you glaring at me?" He asked grinning innocently with his eyes closed.

"Because you're a heartless,-" Amelia paused looking for the right word to describe how she felt.

"Monster?" Zelgadis helped her out, looking at her apprehensively.

"YES! A heartless MONSTER!" she shouted pointing her finger at him.

"Uh, Amelia, I am-"

"And Furthermore,-" Amelia continued ignoring Xelloss, "Why couldn't you sense Filia's fear when she was in trouble, is your Master so important that you would ignore Miss Filia?" she demanded self righteously.

Xelloss looked down at Amelia in dead seriousness. "Yes."

"Hold on," Nexus intervened. "I think we are all missing one crucial point right now."

"And what is that Mr. Nexus?" The short princess asked glaring down at the book.

"In future Xelloss time, Filia has not yet been kidnapped. What you are watching now happened on the same day Filia met with the Supreme elder, so she informed Zelas about the sorcerers in Zoana, and then went to the Kataart Mountains, which means she would not be kidnapped till the next day." He informed her.

"Wait,-" Gourry interrupted. "So then, to the Xelloss in the future, Filia hasn't been kidnapped yet?" He asked.

"That is correct." The book answered.

"So then, uh," Gourry looked down at the book in pain, "We went back in time, in the future?" he asked his eyes unfocused.

"Yes, try not to think about it much; even I have a hard time understanding it sometimes." Nexus replied to the drooling blonde.

"So then Xelloss hasn't betrayed Miss Filia." Amelia said feeling relieved, looking back at the Monster with dazed eyes, as she stared at him, as he was tying knots in to Filia's hair, grinning evilly to himself.

Filia's veins popped around her eyebrows as she began to shake.

"XELLOSS! STOP MESSING WITH MY HAIR!" she shouted as she began to hit the giggling Mazoku with her mace.

_The girl continued to roll around the city, on a set destination, that Xelloss realized, was toward the palace. When she got close, she snuck around the entrance and headed to the back. The castle was very large, and heavily guarded, and she slipped past the guards as a pro, Xelloss watched in awe._

_She reached the garden, and crept down and crawled toward the stone wall of the castle, while Xelloss followed behind her invisible. When she reached the castle, Xelloss noticed on one of the stone's there was a drawing of a smiley face. The red head touched it, and pushed it in, and slipped in the castle. Shrugging Xelloss followed her in._

_Inside the room was dim, and cluttered. They were inside a closet. Light flooded the room, and Xelloss looked up at the red head staring down at him, her finger over a light switch her eyes glaring down at him._

"_Who are you evil spirit? Why have you followed me?' She spoke not looking away from Xelloss. She looked even smaller with her wheeled shoes off, now looking closer to an eight or nine year old. Xelloss smiled to himself and made himself visible. _

"_I guess I cannot hide myself from someone as powerful as you." He said in his fake cheery voice as he looked up at her with eyes closed. He's sweat dropped as her face went pale, and her eyes grew large, apparently, she wasn't expecting someone to answer back._

"_T-That's R-right!" she shouted after a few seconds, regaining her composure, removing her hand from over her wildly beating heart. "Now why have you followed me?"_

"_I am traveling in search of someone powerful to help protect my lady." Xelloss said, stretching the truth, grinning evilly to himself. "And you caught my eye today, and I felt like I need to follow you, in hopes that you were the one I was searching for."_

_The young red head looked down at him and sighed in disgusted. Shaking her shock aside. "That's nice." She replied simply and opened the door. "You better get out of here before my older brother finds you, if he thinks I brought home a boy he will be furious." She shrugged him off, stepping out of the closet._

_Xelloss looked up at her in shock. This little girl was ignoring his story, and was now asking him to leave. Well, he wasn't having that. He stood up and followed her out of the closet._

"_Now, why would your brother think that, it is obvious to see that I am much older than you." He added lightly._

_The red head looked up at him, "How old are you then?" she asked annoyed that he was following her. _

"_Well I'm over twenty five." Xelloss said, grinning._

"_Well that's not that big of a deal, my parents are fifteen years apart, so we are closer in age then they are." She replied, as they walked down the corridor._

"_How could that be, are you not ten or something?" Xelloss asked amazed, the girl stopped walking, her face turned bright red, in fury. _

"_You better get lost, before someone finds you and you're escorted off the premises." She spat at him, and began to stop away, her red hair bouncing behind her. He followed her as she stomped forward._

_This girl, reminds me of someone, Xelloss thought to himself. _

_She continued to walk till she came up to a large door, then she turned around and glared at him, her cheeks flushed, "Why are you still following me?"_

_Xelloss made his best pouting face. "But I told you I was searching for a po-"_

"_Oh please," the girl rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I would believe that?" she asked honestly._

_Xelloss was slightly taken aback. "It's not a lie." He said._

"_It's not the truth either." She replied certain. Xelloss looked over the tiny girl in amazement. Just who was she._

"_Why do you suggest that?" Xelloss asked in his fake cheery voice._

"_Anyone who can turn invisible, and come through the magic field my sister casted isn't a normal person, so I knew that you would try and trick me, and since I cannot use magic, I lead you to inside so you could not wander the castle." She replied, and swiftly knocked on the door. _

_Xelloss looked down at her in confusion, as she crossed her arms. Her bright sea green eyes never left his closed ones._

_When the door opened a young woman walked out, she had short even cut raven hair, with bangs and rose colored eyes. She looked over Xelloss and turned to the girl._

"_What have you brought me Thalia?" The woman asked in her low voice, and Xelloss felt a chill he looked at her. _

_Odd. _

"_This stranger was able to enter through your barrier sister." Thalia replied looking over Xelloss. "He is not human."_

_The young woman looked at Xelloss with calm calculating eyes, and then turned to the younger girl._

"_Thalia," She spoke, causing the younger girl to stiffen, "Did you leave the palace again?" she asked the girl in a dead serious voice. _

"_Gah, Tzeitel, is that really important right now?" the girl asked in horror._

"_There are rules, and you have broken them." Tzeitel said looking down at her sister, with emotionless eyes._

"_There are more important things right now than rules." Thalia said weakly under her sister's gaze. _

_Tzeitel looked back at Xelloss, and walked up to him, staring at him never blinking, and tried to pluck a hair from his head, and when the captive hair was unmoved, her eyes unchanging turned to Thalia._

"_He is not human as you said; a hair would easily be removed if it was really hair." She said walking past both of them, returning to her room. Xelloss and Thalia looked at each other in confusion, as they watched her walk in to her room. Xelloss almost paled at what he saw._

_The room was very dark, and taking up almost half of one of her vast walls was a large replica of Zoamelgustar. The room had many magical artifacts in it, mostly items you would find in a room for someone who specializes in cursed. _

_Tzeitel returned with a very old looking book. It was large, and bound in leather. She opened the book quietly and looked for the page she searched for. Then she looked up at Xelloss and read aloud._

"_His skin is flawless, and his hair perfectly straight. His smile is bright and misleading, and when he speaks, he will distract you with his charismatic demeanor." She read out loud._

"_All of these defenses hide his true monsters nature, the enemy of women, the devil in disguise." She continued, as Thalia took a step away from him nervously._

"_His royal hair, and always shut eyes, reflects the face of an angel, while they mask the soul of a monster. He prays on a pure girl's heart as he feeds of her pain. The Mazoku Xelloss, enemy of the women of Zoana." Tzeitel finished reading from the book, then calmly looked up at Xelloss. _

_Xelloss smiled up at them quietly. Well, well, it seems Miss Martina left a warning to her descendents of me. He giggled to himself. She still is amusing me from the grave._

"_You're a Mazoku." Tzeitel said, not phrasing her statement as a question. "Why have you traveled to our lands Xelloss?" She asked._

_Thalia looked at him in fear, then said, "Wait, Tzeitel, how can you be sure this warning is about him? Martina, our great ancestor left us many warnings." She said trying to reason with her sister, who turned the book around and showed a hand sketched drawling of Xelloss, in perfect detail, with a chibi drawling of a threatening Martina in the corner where the warning was written. _

_This was too much for Xelloss as he broke down in a fit of giggles. "Oh how like Martina." He giggled._

_Thalia's eyes looked like they were going to pop out, as Tzeitel continued to look down at him unemotionally. _

_After Xelloss was done laughing, he looked up at the two girls and cracked an eye open at them, knowing that even if this book said he was the great sea witch of the Dead sea, due to his reaction, they would not believe any different. He placed a hand over his chest and bowed to the girls._

"_Yes my name is Xelloss; I am very pleased to meet you. I am to assume you are the descendents of Miss Martina, therefore the princesses of this land."_

_Tzeitel bowed slowly to Xelloss, to her sisters fear. "Hello Xelloss, My name is Princess Tzeitel Zoana Lahda Navratilova, and this is my younger sister Princess Thalia Zoana Rei Navratilova. We are the descendents of the Queen Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova." She said then straightened up. _

_Thalia looked from her sister to Xelloss in panic, then hesitantly bowed to Xelloss, if you want to call it that, it was more like a shaky jerk. _

"_Would you like to follow me out of the hallway into a more comfortable surroundings, where we can converse over tea?" Tzeitel asked him, unsmiling._

"_Tea would be heavenly." Xelloss grinned at the dark haired girl, as she nodded and turned away from them and began to lead them down the hallway. Xelloss curiously followed. He felt a small tug on his shirt as he looked down at Thalia's big blue green eyes._

"_She is a little scary." She whispered to him, pointing toward Tzeitel, "More than you."_

_Xelloss continued to smile his goofy smile, it seemed the girl got over her fear of him._

"_So you're not afraid of me?" He asked her matching her volume._

_She looked up at him confused. "Why would I have been? Queen Martina's book has a bunch of ramblings in it, it was mostly warnings toward men, I think she was a big flirt actually, I was more surprised that someone she wrote about is still alive, over twenty five my ass." She laughed loudly, and then paused, "Well I guess you didn't lie though did you?" She asked looking up at him._

"_Thalia, watch your language." Tzeitel said from in front of them, causing Thalia to jump. _

"_So,-" Xelloss asked gaining her attention again, "Your sister must be a powerful sorceress." _

"_She is really creepy, more like." Thalia whispered looking up at her sisters back and visibly shivered. "It's like she was born with a dark aura that causes even the foulest of men to run in fear." She said mystically. "She has a knack for curses and predicting bad things, like when our parents were captured twelve years ago." she whispered._

_Xelloss listened as she ranted, and sighed, this female couldn't be the sorcerer he was looking for. He decided to move to topic on. "And your brother?"_

"_Which one?" She asked as they turned a corner. _

"_You have more than one?" Xelloss asked._

"_It's me, then my brother Erik and my older brother Orin. Tzeitel is the oldest." She replied._

"_And are your brothers powerful?" Xelloss asked._

"_Orin is really powerful; he has never been defeated in combat. People say it is because he had such a strong ancestor. I think he is a big headed fool." She said frowning. "He is always telling me what to do, and he is the one who said I could not leave the palace. Ever since I was one year old, I wasn't allowed to leave the castle grounds, and it was because our parents were captured. He didn't want the town's people to know who I was, in order to protect me. So I started sneaking out when I got older." She fumed._

_Xelloss stopped walking and stared back down at her. That would mean. . ._

_She was really short, and very flat, he mistaken her for a nine year old, but if what she just told her was true; this young girl was really, Thirteen? _

"_Of course, he thinks since he is so strong he can force me to stay in the palace, that's why I tried to learn magic with Tzeitel, but I just don't have enough magic capacity she said. Most humans have a very small capacity to use magic, and I was born with very little, maybe enough to sense things." She sighed heavily, "I seemed to be cures in being undeveloped in a lot of areas." She spouted bitterly._

_Yes, she defiantly reminded him of someone. _

_Tzeitel stopped in front of a room, and opened the door, which lead to a furnished sitting room, and asked the guard at the door to inform someone to bring them tea and sweets. The three sat down and waited for their snack. _

"_So then Xelloss," Tzeitel asked, calmly staring up at him. "How would you like to play a little game?" She asked._

"_Oh?" Xelloss asked her intrigued._

"_I am rather gifted in reading someone's palm, would you like to give it a try while we wait for our tea?" she asked._

_Xelloss thought this over and smiled brightly. "I am not very fond of knowing the future." He said seriously, smiling up at her._

"_I find that hard to believe, you seem like a person who likes to be in control of everything that you face." She said darkly._

_Xelloss slightly recoiled, this woman had an uncanny intuition, she seemed to pin him after just meeting him, and she had barely spoken to him. She was something, if anything, interesting._

"_Well, I have little control over anything, but yes, I do like to have control over what I have, and the future, is something that seems to be set in stone." He replied._

"_What makes you say that?" Thalia asked as she twirled her curly hair in her fingers. "The future could always be changed."_

"_Hmm?" Xelloss encouraged her._

"_For example, Tze did a reading on me before that my I would choke on blueberry ice cream that day, so when I had some, I was careful while eating it, unlike how I usually eat, and whala! No choking." She stated cheerfully._

"_Ah, but who is to say it wasn't fate for your sister to tell you that, and the future truly meant your you to not choke, or in other words it was your destiny to be warned, and then it was your destiny to not choke." Xelloss asked her his finger pointed upward._

_Thalia stopped twirling her hair and thought about what he said. "That could be true, but only if you want to believe it I guess." She said crossing her legs and began to bounce her leg up and down._

"_So are you saying you believe in destiny?" Tzeitel asked him staring him down with her blush colored eyes._

"_I don't believe in either, I cannot claim to know something, without knowing it." He replied simply. _

"_That makes sense," Thalia said, "So why don't you let Tzeitel read your palm for fun? Or do you have another reason for declining"_

_Xelloss sighed, these girls, were persistent, and hard to fool. Not like most humans he encountered._

_The door to the room opened and a tall man stood there looking down at the three, he had dark royal purple colored hair and bright copper colored eyes. His short hair was spiked all around his head, his eyebrow arched in fury as he looked at Xelloss._

"_Who is he?" He asked in a dark tone._

"_Who is who?" A cheery voice came from behind him as a taller man walked in to the room. This man was very tall, with short spiked blonde hair that covered his right eye, as his left green eye was exposed. His hair fell past his chin, and he had a goofy expression as he looked in the room._

_Xelloss looked at the blonde in shock._

"_Gourry?"_


	12. Dysfunctional Family's Are Genetic!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I do love Lemony Lemon Juice. REeeeeeeEE!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

**Chapter 12 –Dysfunctional Family's are Genetic? **

"_Gourry?"_

_Xelloss looked over the tall blonde man in awe. His likeness to his old companion was undeniable. Aside from the eyes, everything looked similar. The broad shoulders, the goofy expression, even the way the blonde cut his bangs. _

"_Uh, no, my name is Erik, if you're uh talking about Gourry Gabriev, his is my great ancestor." Erik replied looking at Xelloss slightly confused. "One of his children married the great Queen Martina's child many years ago, causing their bloodlines to merger and be pasted down." He said._

_Xelloss mentally smacked his head, of course, how could he forget, the descendents of Martina would also had been Miss Lina's as well, now he realized why Thalia reminded him of someone. He smiled to himself as the pieces fit together. _

_The dark haired man continued to glare down at Xelloss as he had his epiphany. He switched his glare to Tzeitel and Thalia. "Who let this man inside our castle?" He interrogated._

_Thalia immediately rose from her chair in anger, "I did." She stated boldly. "What are you going to do about it?" She shouted as she glared at him. Xelloss looked at her sudden anger in surprise behind his still closed eyes._

"_Thalia, what have I told you?" He said directly to her, his voice rising. "You never listen to what anyone say's to you, it always goes right over your head. You would think it would be common sense to not let strangers inside the castle. If I told you once, I've told you a thousand times, what is your excuse now? You forgot?" He barred down on her his copper eyes ablaze._

_Thalia looked away from him, her anger pleasantly waving over Xelloss. Ah, old habits die hard he thought joyfully as he enjoyed the refreshment. She seemed to be use to his over baring nagging, as she replied to him in her defense, "I am going to ignore you now."_

_Instead of letting it end there, the copper eyed man, who Xelloss assumed was Orin attacked back, "Of course you're going to ignore me, you always do when you know I am right and that mouth of yours has nothing else to spit back." _

_Thalia forcibly bit her tongue holding back her anger at her brother's comment, causing Erik to raise his arms in front of him, "Now guys, don't start that while we have a guest." He said trying to calm the two. _

_Tzeitel looked up at Erik and in a low unnerved voice said, "I have tea and sweets coming."_

_Erik's eyes lit up and grinned widely, "That's great! We can talk over tea!" he stated as if that solved all their problems, and then took a seat next to Xelloss. _

"_So what brings you to our wonderful Kingdom? The upcoming festival?" Erik asked Xelloss happily, trying to distract his bickering siblings. _

"_He said he was searching for someone powerful to protect his Lady." Thalia said in a jerky voice, glossing over the fact that he followed her, as she sat down besides Tzeitel._

"_Oh, so he is searching for me for service?" Orin asked half annoyed, half proud. _

"_It depends; the strength I search for is not the physical kind,-" Xelloss replied buoyantly. "-but more so the spiritual or mystical kind." _

_Orin's face fell for a moment and then sat himself beside Tzeitel, keeping separated from Thalia. "I see, then I cannot help you." He said thought his tone seemed to say, 'even if you needed my help I am unavailable to the likes of you'_

"_This lady of yours, is she your lover?" Tzeitel asked aloof._

"_Uh, no she is more like my, Master." Xelloss said not wanting any confusion over the matter._

"_That makes more sense then." She said, "If your lady needed protection why would you leave her side?" _

_Xelloss was confused if that was a question or an answer. By the expectant look she gave him he deducted that it was a question. _

"_Um well I guess the only answer for that is," He replied and placed his finger to his grinning mouth. "A secret."_

_Tzeitel stared at him unblinking for a few seconds as Thalia looked at him in bewilderment. Orin and Erik weren't really sure what happened but Orin decided he wasn't pleased about it and Erik just continued to smile._

"_I see," Tzeitel stated finally, looking up at the door. "Secrets are meant to be cracked, and I do love a challenge." She said solemnly as the door opened with a man with a tray with a tea set and a plate of sweets. _

_Xelloss chuckled nervously at her, as the tea and sweets were presented to them. They must have expected more than three because there were six tea cups. Thalia noticed him looking at the cups and decided to bestow some knowledge on him. _

"_There are extra cups because we are known to break one here and there." She said, as she pulled her tea cup to her mouth and sipped. Xelloss looked down at his own cup of tea and smiled his artificial smile at her and also tasted his tea. Ah, he did love a good cup of tea. _

"_So then," Orin said after taking a sip of his tea, "What is your name?" He asked in a false civilized tone. Thalia almost choked on her tea as she looked up at Xelloss with a threatened gaze. Xelloss pretended he did not notice._

"_Xel and yours is Mister Orin if I am not mistaken." Xelloss replied, taking another sip of his tea. Orin's angry silence was answer enough for Xelloss._

"_Hey Xel, why do you talk with your eyes closed like that all the time?" Erik asked confused at the monster. _

"_Erik. Don't be rude." Tzeitel said forbearing._

"_I just thought maybe he was blind." Erik said defensively._

"_Erik you jackass!" Thalia shouted impulsively throwing her empty cup at the blonde, who reflexively dodged it. "If he was blind how could he have mistaken you for Gourry Gabriev?" She shrieked._

_Erik looked at her dumbfounded then slapped his fist on his open palm. "Oh yea, But then wait, does that mean he can see through his eye lids, cause his eyes were closed when he met us?" He exclaimed in fear._

"_Something is not adding up." Orin said suspiciously as he looked over Xelloss curiously._

_Xelloss realized he need to dig out his trickster ways to deal with this group, and after a seconds thought he smiled up at Erik. "You caught me, not many can see past my disguise." He began,-_

"_He is a Mazoku." Tzeitel said bluntly, with her eyes closed holding her tea cup close to her mouth then drank from it, causing Xelloss to lose his balance. _

"_Oh Miss Tzeitel." He said miserably as he pulled himself off the ground, she had ruined all his fun._

_Erik looked at Xelloss and then to Tzeitel then smiled widely. "Oh Okay, that makes sense then." He stated then returned to his tea. _

_Something was not adding up right, Xelloss thought, this family was not acting the way most did when they found out they were sharing tea WITH A MONSTER. It was as if they were used to entertaining Monsters for Tea and Snacks._

"_So then, that is how you passed through Tzeitel barrier." Orin said darkly looking Xelloss over._

"_Oh shut up Orin, you're not scaring anyone, especially a Mazoku, with your mighty tough guy act." Thalia said in a fiery tone, grabbing the unused tea cup and poured tea in to it._

_Orin turned to look at Thalia, then to Xelloss and back at her again. "Thalia, go to your room." He said in an extreme seriousness, as if he just realized Xelloss was a monster and she might be endanger. Finally, Xelloss thought, someone was acting the way they should. _

"_Over my dead body." She replied in a low voice looking at him with defiant eyes._

_Orin rose up and walked over to her, he looked like he was going to forcibly take her away._

"_Orin." Tzeitel said calmly as she sat her tea cup down, and then narrowed her eyes at him, causing everyone in the room to hold their breath. "Leave her be."_

_Orin looked like he was going to disobey her for a second then sat back down beside her. The room was very tense, as Xelloss pondered if this was really where he was going to find his sorcerer._

"_It seems the sun will be setting soon." Erik said loudly, trying to change the mood. Thalia looked up at her favorite brother in disgust and rage. "And what does that have to do with the price of tea in Seyruun?" She asked her voice shaking with misplaced rage._

"_I was just thinking, maybe Xel wanted a place to stay for the night." He said thoughtfully, causing Thalia to sigh at his lack of tact and knowledge. "Erik, Monsters don't sleep."_

_Xelloss frowned. How much did this family know about monsters, enough to know there habits but not enough to fear them, apparently._

"_Well they aren't supposed to eat either, but he drank all his tea and ate all his snacks." Erik pointed out to her._

"_Well-" Thalia began, and then paused to think. "Well, perhaps he can enjoy the tea and snacks, even though he doesn't need them for substance." _

"_If it is a question of lodging, I really don't nee-" _

"_You will stay." Tzeitel said plainly, as if that settled it. "Barton, prepare a room for our guest." She said to the guard at the door._

"_Yes your majesty." He bowed then dismissed himself. _

"_You will stay the night, and tomorrow we shall find you what you are searching for." Tzeitel said to him, as she rose from her chair._

"_Is that a prediction?" Xelloss asked the raven girl curiously as his eyebrow twitched at her forwardness._

"_More like intuition. I cannot predict anything till I read your palm." She stated as if that was obvious. "Orin, follow me please." She said firmly as she walked out the door. Orin stood up and sent a glare down at both Xelloss and Thalia then obediently followed his older sister out of the room._

_After a few moments Thalia sighed. "I tell you, Tze can really scare me sometimes." She replied lazily as she relaxed in her chair. _

"_You really shouldn't antagonize Orin like you do." Erik said to her worrisome. "It's only a matter of time before he-"_

"_Yeah, yeah I know." She waved her hand in front of her face dismissing his warning. She rested her head on the back of her seat and stared at the ceiling._

"_So then," Xelloss began not enjoying the silence. "If your parents are gone, who is the acting ruler of this land?" _

"_Our uncle, but he is away in Seyruun right now." Thalia said as she began to pick her nose then stuck her treasure on the bottom of the table. Xelloss pretended not to see feeling slightly disgusted. "And is he your uncle on your mother's side or your fathers?" _

"_Fathers, Mom is from Sairaag." Erik stated, as he yawned loudly, then rose from his seat, "It is getting late; perhaps we should call it a night?" He said looking down at his younger sister. Thalia was absentmindedly twisting her hair in her fingers and then focused her eyes on him._

"_Yeah, I am getting sleepy." She decided, as she stood up and stretched. "You can follow me to your room if you would like." She said when she finished her stretch. _

_Xelloss rose from his chair, deciding to play along for now. Once he was in his room he could always phase away, since he felt that his query was not to be found in this castle. At least he had an excuse to return tomorrow if he could not find anything tonight. _

"_So what is the plan Xelloss?" Thalia asked him from up a head as she walked toward their destination. "After you're in your room are you going to jump in to the astral side and run around and do Monster things?" she asked in amusement, causing Xelloss to almost stumble in mid step._

"_It must be nice." She sighed from ahead as she turned to face him, her aquamarine eyes looking forlorn. "To jump from place to place, and not have to worry about travel time. One could jump to someone's house and be back before they could be discovered missing." _

"_That sounds rather mischievous." Xelloss grinned down to the girl._

"_Well, when you spend your whole life being kept secret, one tends to gain an affinity of wanting to do things that surprises others." She said to him sourly._

"_And your brother has no clue that you leave the castle?" Xelloss asked curiously._

"_Oh if he had a clue, he would have chained me to the wall years ago." Thalia replied dryly. "I'm surprised he hasn't just moved me to the dungeons permanently."_

"_I'm sure you would have found some other means to escape." Xelloss thought out loud._

"_It isn't as simple as jumping from the astral side to the physical realm." She pointed out._

"_Miss Thalia," Xelloss said looking down at the young princess, unable to keep his curiosity to himself. "How do you and your siblings know so much about Monsters?"_

_She looked up at him looking confounded by the question then replied mockingly, "It's a secret." _

_Xelloss felt slightly irritated, as his defense was used against him. She turned to the door beside her that she stopped in front of and opened the door. The room was indeed fit for a guest of the royal palace, colored in deep blue's and browns. Thalia held the door open with her body as she motioned him inside._

"_Thank you for you generosity." Xelloss remarked semi humbly as he looked at the room. Thalia just shrugged and replied, "Thank you for not snitching on me in front of my pigheaded brother." _

_Xelloss placed his staff on the large bed and sat down on it slowly, waiting for her to dismiss herself, but she did not remover herself from the door way. He looked up at her expectant behind closed eyes as her eyebrows twitched before she decided to voice her silent questions._

"_Did you really know Queen Martina?" she abruptly asked him, trying to appear calm as she leaned against his door._

"_I Did." He replied watching her every movement wondering what was to follow this question._

"_Then you were there when she was protected by the Great Lord Zoamelgustar?" She asked tentatively. _

_Ah, I see, Xelloss thought. She was curious about the beliefs of the false Mazoku Lord Zoamelgustar. Well unfortunately, Xelloss was not in the mood to unfold the actuality of her kingdom's long upheld belief, even if it was one as ridiculous as Lord Zoamelgustar._

"_I did not have the grace of seeing Lord Zoamelgustar protect your ancestor." He said to the girl, which was not a straight out lie, but it wasn't the truth either._

"_I see." She said disappointed, then decided to not impose on him any longer. She slowly stepped away from the door allowing it to swing shut, she gave him a gestured wave, and said, "Enjoy your night, see you in the morning." Then her bright familiar red hair disappeared behind the closed door. _

_Xelloss smile dropped as he opened his eyes and truly looked at the room. It was grand and well furnished, and looked nothing like home, which made him dislike it. He snorted at his own sentimental thoughts and quickly moved himself to the astral side. This would give him the chance to look around for clues on his rouge mage, and the ability to return if someone decided to return to his room in the night. _

Amelia yawned loudly as she struggled to keep her eyes open on the screen. She was snuggled in her fuzzy blanket as her head rested on her arms. "Mister Nexus, is it possible we stop for the night? I am getting s-s-sleepy." She yawned.

"That isn't a bad idea." Lina said as she tried to hide a yawn behind her pink gloved hand, as Zelgadis nodded his head in agreement.

"If that is what my master wishes?" He stated waiting for approval from Filia.

Filia stretched her arms upward feeling stiff from sitting on the couch for so long. "That sounds like a good plan; I don't think I can stay awake much longer."

"Typical Dragon, they just can't keep their attention focused." Xelloss teased her from her side.

Filia grinned at him staring at him impudently. "Well at least when everyone was watching me they didn't feel like dozing off."

"But of course, that is because a monster is always efficient in what they do, and when it comes to a Dragon, their incompetent nature keeps everyone's attention, if only to see what they can mess up."

Filia's face flushed in anger and was about to answer him with her own remark till Lina whacked her over the head.

"Can you two give it a rest, at least until I get some sleep?" She criticized, and then turned to the book on the table. "Yo, Nexus, where can we sleep anyway? Does this magical cabin have bedrooms?"

"If you look to the left of the bathroom, there are two doors, the females can go into the red door, and the males in to the blue."

"Sound good to me, HEY GOURRY, WAKE UP!" she shouted to the sleeping Gourry on the floor, causing him to jump up in defense mood. "Lina, what is it?" He asked surprised.

"Sleep time. Get your butt to bed." She told him, as she turned to leave for bed, as he followed her.

Everyone, feeling tired, quickly filed into their separate rooms, leaving Filia and Xelloss as the last ones to exit.

"What are you going to do since you can't phase away for the night and do 'Monster things'?" Filia teased Xelloss as she rose to get much needed sleep.

"Perhaps I will slip in to your bed." He grinned evilly at her with a cracked open eye. "That would count as a 'Monster thing'"

Filia blanched, then gave him a nasty look, "I would rather-" She began till he covered her mouth with his hand.

"Now, now Filia," He whispered, trying to keep himself from laughing at her shocked face, and the betrayal of her beating heart. "You don't want to say something you'll regret later, just say goodnight and I will see you in the morning. I know it's hard to keep your cravings in check, but please try to grasp some self control" He told her in a serious tone.

She stared at him bewildered for a couple seconds, till she carefully removed his hand from her mouth, and then carefully hit him hard over the head with her mace, causing him to crash in to the floor.

"Goodnight." She said mockingly to him distressed, and then stomped to her room.

Xelloss stood up grinning as she stalked away. Like always, her mace did nothing to his astral body, but he always felt a small amount of pleasure when she was satisfied by her violent tactics. He chuckled darkly to himself.

He crossed arms and floated in the air as he thought to himself. _Now what?_

Nexus stayed on the table where he was left, and ignored Xelloss presence completely. After a few moments he spoke out, silent to anyone but the one he wanted to hear him.

"What do you think so far?"

There was silence for a few seconds, and then a low voice replied to him, though the source of the sound remained hidden.

"Things are not going as I thought they did, and I have not decided if that is a good or bad thing."

Nexus was silent for a moment then replied to the voice, "The worst is yet to come, are you sure you want to continue?"

A few moments pasted before the voice answered, "You know you want this as much as I do."

"Yes, but I already know the outcome. This is going to be hard for you to witness." Nexus said to the invisible presence.

"Are you suggesting I don't have the stomach to follow through with this mission?" The voice asked in a threatening tone.

"Not at all, I am counting on you, as well as the others to aid in this affair." The book said.

"Well, you do have a mission to fulfill for L-sama. Forgive me if I take it more personally."

"Not at all, after all this benefits you as well as I."

The voice was calm for a moment then replied, "They will have a tough time swallowing what is to unravel. Do you really believe she will be able to make a difference?"

"Oh you underestimate her, I believe, she will rise to your expectations 110%."

"Those are big words, coming from a backstabbing barbarian."

"Ouch, that hurts." Nexus whined.

"You do realize most of this is your fault."

"The blame always has to be pushed somewhere."

"Everyone is responsible for a share of it, you just have more to owe up to."

"Are you sure you want to remain hidden? Why do you come out tomorrow when we resume?" The booked asked curiously.

"I shall remain hidden till I am needed. After all, they have a lot of information to soak in and my presence would just be a distraction. You know I don't like that much attention."

"Pity, how much you have changed."

"Well yeah, that's why we're here isn't it." The voice replied scornfully.


	13. Oh, What An Unlucky Morning!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Buut I do own all my silly OC's.

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

**Chapter 13 – Oh, What An Unlucky Morning? **

The next morning, after everyone had awakened from their sleep, they and all gathered to eat breakfast that Nexus provided to them. Filia asked the enchanted book a question she had held on to since the previous night.

"Nexus, when you presented yourself to me, you said you were created to bring the Dragon and Monster race closer to their true mission," She asked as she spread blackberry jam on the toasted bread she had in front of her. "But in the future, it seems that that is still unclear to Xelloss and I, So what did you mean when you said that?"

"That is between L-sama and myself." The book said. "Only when she decided for me to bare that information can I release it."

"Of course." Filia answered as if that was what she expected him to say, causing Xelloss to raise an eyebrow at her from behind his two foot tower of pancakes.

Lina looked up from her own large plate of breakfast foods and gulped down the knot of food in her throat. "Filia, I think it is safe to say most monsters don't share information unless it benefits them."

"But of course," Amelia said self righteously, as she poured syrup on top of her stack of waffles, then handed the sticky liquid over to Zelgadis who poured it over his French toast. "Monsters are the servents of evil, giving a straightforward answer would be to honest of them."

"I am not withholding information from my master to be dishonest," Nexus replied to her displeased.

"Well that is yet to be seen." Xelloss smirked, as Filia looked at him in horror noticing a missing tower of pancakes. "Where did your food go?"

"Oh Fi-Chan, did you really think I could leave my food unguarded for long with those two on the loose?" He asked pointing to Lina and Gourry with his fork. Filia followed the gesture and realized that the two had cleaned all the food in front of them, and were now finishing what was in front of her. Filia sighed, and placed the remaining toast on her plate no longer hungry. Their table manners caused her to lose her appetite.

Amelia looked up at her two companions as they vacuumed across the table retrieving every crumb. She remembered something from last night and smiled brightly.

"Don't you think Gourry and Lina's descendents were cute?" she asked innocently to the group at the table.

Lina froze as she finished off a blueberry danish and glared up at the short girl, her face red. "Who said it was my descendent?" She asked loudly. "No one ever threw my name out, they only said it was Gourry's descendent."

"Miss Lina, how could you miss the similarities?" Amelia asked her powerful friend looking surprised.

"Similarity's?" Lina asked in thought. _Well, she was mature for her age, _Lina nodded to herself. _Cute round eyes, has an I won't take shit from no one attitude, smart, pretty,-_

"Yeah, I've never seen a girl as flat as Lina," Gourry said, "Even thought I think Lina is a little bit smaller-"

Gourry hit the floor so hard, he bounced, as Lina stood over him, her chair she was just sitting in hoisted above her head, flames spitting out of her mouth.

"Woah, Miss Lina," Amelia shouted in terror, "Maybe your right, maybe she isn't your descendent, maybe Gourry marries a nice refined lady," She shouted cleverly as Lina's face faulted.

"But they are similar; perhaps Gourry marries Lina's older sister Luna?" Xelloss said enjoying the chaos radiating from Lina, preparing for the wonderful storm ahead.

Lina's face drained at the mention of her sister, but after a few seconds she comprehended what Xelloss had claimed, and in a movement almost too quick for even the Mazoku to follow, she appeared in front of the trickster priest, grabbing two large fistfuls of his robes and roughly pulled him up from his sitting position to her eye level.

"Take it back." She threatened darkly, her cherry orbs reflecting death into his closed eyes. Xelloss smiled innocently back at her, laughing mentally.

"Lina, you know he is just trying to enrage you," Zelgadis told the fiery sorceress. "You know that would never happen, right Gourry?"

Gourry looked up at Zelgadis, not sure what happened in the past few minutes, but decided to agree to keep the peace. "Sure, I'm all for it." He smiled as everyone's face looked from him to Lina in horror.

Lina slowly released her hold on Xelloss not looking up at anyone; her anger seemed to diminish as she slowly walked over to Filia. Filia watched the blonde, fearfully wondering what she was up to, and then suddenly, Lina raised Filia's dress up and grabbed mace-sama, and swiftly turned to Gourry.

"YOU STUPID, SLUG BRAINED JELLYFISH!" She shouted infuriated, as she sent the gold haired man crashing into one of Nexus enchanted walls.

It took some time for Lina to calm down enough to sit down with everyone, and when she finally did, she sat as far away from Gourry and Xelloss as she could. She crossed her arms, clearly still fuming and barked down to Nexus, "Go head and start, so we can finish this stupid thing and I can get away from everyone." She flared.

"Mister Nexus, are we coming close to the answers of why Mister Rufus was changed?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, we should be getting close, as Xelloss said yesterday; Monsters are efficient when it comes to their missions." He replied sounding slightly bitter.

Filia looked at the book in silent wonder, it seemed whenever the book referred to Xelloss, he seemed annoyed, as if the mere mention of the monster brought him distaste.

"This is a very eventful morning for Xelloss, so try and pay attention," Nexus stated. "This is going to clear a lot of the questions that's been jumping around in your head for a long time." He said to no one in particular.

Filia wonder who he was talking to, feeling like it wasn't one of the six.

"Now this is the morning Filia was kidnapped right Nexus?" Amelia asked.

"Yes it is." The book said to her.

Filia looked at Xelloss wondering what the Monster was thinking about. He had his usual grin, but she could tell he was staring at her from beneath. _Alright Namagomi, let's see what you do._

_Xelloss returned to the castle of Zoana just as the rays of the sun peaked over the horizon. He searched all night for the crack pot sorcerer that was described to him by Lord Zelas, and he came up with nothing. He phased in to his room, and stared out his window frustrated._

_Filia was lord knows where in the world, while he ran around searching for an old sorcerer. He couldn't stand feeling so tense about it, even if no one knew about it. He scanned down at the garden of the palace as the morning light began to illuminate across it, when a bright red blur caught his attention. _

_Interesting, Xelloss thought as he jumped in to the astral side. It would be easier to spy if he couldn't be sensed._

_Thalia swiftly snuck in to the palace unaware she was being watched by anyone. She quickly removed her wheeled shoes, and stored them in her hidden closet. She peeked out the closet door to make sure nobody saw her, and then slipped inside the castle unnoticed._

_She walked down the hall swiftly for a few moments, while her pounding heart tried to still its self. She instantly heard the footsteps that followed behind her and whipped her head around looking for the source._

"_Erik!" She shouted in a whisper at her brother, who walked up at her looking displeased._

"_Thalia," He spoke to her warningly. "Please tell me you haven't been out to see him." The tall blonde pleaded._

"_Erik, if we get caught talking out here," She whispered fearfully, "Hurry, hide in here." She said as she shoved him and herself in a vacant room, as Xelloss followed._

"_Thalia," Erik resumed when she locked the door, and began shutting the curtains. "I told you not to mess around with that kid anymore. It will only result in trouble." The man told the red headed girl._

_Thalia looked at him in horror. "You don't understand, we are in more trouble than your realize right now." She whispered to him, as she sat on a chair and issued him to sit down._

"_What do you mean?" Erik asked her as he stared at her with his emerald eye curiously._

"_I mean, Xel." She whispered to him looking afraid._

"_What's wrong with him?" Erik asked confused. "By the way you were acting you seemed to like him."_

"_I do, but that's not what is important." She said nervously. "Think about it, he is a monster." She said to him. "What if he was sent here because of what happened a few days ago." she hinted. _

_Erik looked at her confused, and then as if someone switched a light on, he realized what she meant._

"_Do you think he is here because of that?" He asked her as she closed her eyes in thought._

"_It could be a possibility."_

"_But Thalia, why did you sneak out and talk to him, wouldn't that be the last thing to do in this situation?" he asked the young girl._

"_Do you believe what he is showing us is wrong?" Thalia asked him, snapping her turquoise gaze harshly on him. "Answer me truthfully; don't you think something's are worth the risk of knowing?" _

"_Knowing things, and acting on them are two separate things." Erik said to her bothered. "I think what happened shouldn't have. I fear we will pay the price for it."_

_Thalia shifted her tired eyes away from him, looking like she aged ten years. "I feel the same way."_

"_So what did he say, I am assuming you told him of Xel?" Erik asked as she shook her head sadly._

"_He thinks that he WAS sent here because of what happened, and-" she paused as she took a deep breath, "He wants to meet him, badly."_

"_Don't you think that is a little-"_

"_Risky? Stupid? Yeah, I thought that after I told him. I am starting to wish we never met him." She said disturbed._

_Xelloss watched as the two chatted about things he did not understand. Whatever was going on, it seemed like the two were in deep trouble, and His presence seemed to stir it._

"_I know Elias is trying to help the human race, with his knowledge of the monster race, but why did he single you out?" Erik said sadly. "He has caused a lot of trouble for us."_

"_Yeah, I know that, but he said this was the only way we could get our parents back, to have a solid defense against the monsters. I half didn't believe it would work. We were already advancing farther than anyone has in years, we should have just continued our progress without his mad ideas." Thalia said in resentment._

_They were silent for a few tense moments then Erik looked up at her sadly. "I know it's bad when you regret something." He said simply._

"_Yeah, it's not a feeling I would like to get use to." She said looking away from him. _

_He watched her as she stared away from him for a long moment, and sighed sadly. She glanced over at him and realized that putting both of them in a miserable mood wasn't going to fix anything._

"_Well we can't let Tzeitel or Orin to find out about any of this that is for sure." She said as she began to rise from her chair. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, I mean, if Xel was sent here to kill us, why would it take him this long? If a monster wants you dead, for a human, you might as well just crawl in to your grave." _

"_Thalia, what are you going to do?" He asked his younger sister as she walked to the door of the room, and unlocked it._

"_I'm going to go talk to Xel, and Erik," She said looking up at the blonde, "I don't want you interfering. I don't want Orin or Tzeitel getting suspicious." She whispered then opened the door. "I'll see you later." _

_Xelloss quickly jumped back from the astral plane to his room. It would seem that Thalia and her family knew so much about the monster race because this kid named Elias has been trading information with them, but what exactly are Thalia and Erik trading in return? _

_He waited a few moments until he heard a light knock on the door. Xelloss grinned to himself as he slowly walked over and opened the door._

"_Good Morning." Thalia said brightly, with any trace of fear or worry stripped away. Xelloss stared at the red head in shock for a second, but then smiled pleasantly down at her. "Good morning."_

"_I'm surprised you actually stayed, the way you were acting last night, I assumed you would have jetted from this crazy place as soon as I shut to door." She stated as she looked the room over with her sea green eyes._

"_Hmm, unless you just got back?" she stated suspiciously as she observed the untouched bedroom. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly, "You could have at least made it seem like you stayed." Thalia said shaking her head at him. _

_Xelloss watched her in amusement as she shut the door and walked around him. She headed to his bed then sat down on it and crossed her legs._

"_So there is actually something I wanted to talk to you about, well a favor really." She said as she began to twist one of her curly locks in her fingers._

"_Oh, and what could that be?" Xelloss asked in false surprise._

"_Well, I have a friend, no scratch that," she said frowning, as she began to bounce her crossed leg, "He is more like an acquaintance, I don't know him that well, anyways," she paused as she thought of the right words to say. Xelloss decided to remain silent as she began to ask the question he already knew was to be asked. "I kinda, sorta told him about you staying at my house, and he seemed interested in meeting you, and I was wondering, if it wasn't too much trouble, if you would go meet him?" she asked staring at him._

"_Why would he want to meet me?" Xelloss asked as he crossed his arms and began to float in mid air. In his line of work, he found the easiest way to gain information out of someone was when they came to you with questions and favors._

"_He is some kind of Monster scholar," She began as she stared at him from the bed. "He traveled here a couple of weeks ago, he actually saved my from a monster, anyways, he travels all over the world collecting information on monsters, and uses it to-" she said then paused._

"_Use against monsters who are doing unacceptable deeds?" He tried to help her out._

_She shook her head disagreeing, "It is more like he is helping humans be more aware of the signs of monsters, and behavior to use when around them." She corrected._

"_And this scholar wants to talk to me?" he asked grinning._

"_Pretty much." She replied._

"_Well, no offense to your friend, but don't you think someone who knows about monsters, and is spreading information about them should really try and talk to one, when they could see him as a threat and eliminate him?" he asked in a semi menacing tone._

"_That's what I said." she said unfazed by his approach. "But he seemed dead set on it when I told him your name." she said still bouncing her leg._

_Odd, Xelloss thought to himself. "And who is this charming fellow?" _

"_His name is Elias; he travels with his Dragon friends Gieza and Miriam. Apparently they met when they obtained a copy of something called a care bible." She said absentmindedly causing Xelloss eyes to widen._

"_You mean Clair bible?" _

"_Yeah that's it." She continued on, as Xelloss closed eyes narrowed. "When he obtained it, he started traveling from place to place sharing the information he translated from it." _

_Oh dear._

"_Anyways, when I snuck out this morning, I met with him and told him that I met a monster and he was very curious about you. He insisted on meet you saying he wanted to speak to you personally." She said hesitantly._

_It looks like I found more than I bargained for. _

"_Why would he want to talk to me personally?" Xelloss asked suspiciously._

"_He said it was something about a dragon." She said confused by the information._

"_A dragon?" Xelloss asked confused. What would he need to know about a dragon? Xelloss thought before he froze._

_Filia?_

"_Did he say anything more about the dragon?" He asked rather urgently._

_Thalia looked at him confused by his change of mood and shook her head. "He just said that wanted to tell you about something he heard about 'your' dragon." _

_Xelloss thought about what she said to him for a second. This all seemed a little too well planned. If someone was trying to trick him, they were using every red flag to pull him in. If this was a trick, who ever thought it out would have had extensive information on him to reel him in. No random traveler would have known about Filia, unless he was working for a monster._

_Perhaps he should check with Zelas on what to do._

"_Well, it seems like I would be foolish not to." He said to her, as he felt a wave of discomfort from her._

"_So then you want to?" she asked him hesitantly._

"_Perhaps, when did he want to meet with me?" He asked her._

"_As soon as possible." She replied essentially. She looked like she felt like this was not a good idea._

"_Well, I do have one errand to run, so I will take care of that first, then I will be ready to help you out." He grinned cracking an eye at her, then phased away._

_Xelloss quickly arrived in front of his master. Zelas looked at him from her chair as she sat alone in her room._

"_What is it Xelloss?" She asked him staring at him with her golden eyes._

"_Master, I need your advice." He bowed._

"_Go on." She issued._

_After Xelloss told Zelas about all he heard from Thalia she stared at him quietly._

"_What do you think about this?" She asked her favorite._

_Xelloss opened his closed eyes and stared back at his master. "I think it's a trap."_

_Zelas looked him for a few moments then sighed. "So do I. First, you have destroyed all the Clair Bible manuscripts so that has to be a farce, and if the traveler was referring to Filia when he mentioned 'your dragon' he would have had nothing to report because I spoke to Salvia a few moments before you arrived and she informed me everything was in order with her party." She said reassuring him._

"_Then how do you want me to proceed?" Xelloss asked._

"_The human is not a threat, and two dragons could hardly hope to stand a chance against you, but," she paused looking him over. "There is the chance they have the sorcerer on their side."_

_Xelloss nodded his head. "That was my main concern." _

"_This has been thought out very well." Zelas said appraisingly. "Almost too well."_

"_I want you to go, but I will be sending you back up." She decided as she summoned another Mazoku._

_Dexi appeared in the room and swiftly bowed to her mistress. "Lord Zelas?" _

"_Dexi, I wish for you to accompany Xelloss on his journey today, I wish for you to remain unseen and report back to me if anything is to happen." She commanded._

_Dexi bowed to Zelas and then stood besides Xelloss. _

"_You may go." She said dismissing them, giving Xelloss a swift smile as they phased back to the castle of Zoana. _

"_How has Val been?" Xelloss asked Dexi as they traveled through the astral plane._

"_No change." The red head replied, sweeping her dark green eyes over Xelloss quickly._

"_And Odile?"_

"_She seemed pretty sour yesterday since she didn't pass some test." She said as Xelloss began to chuckle._

"_I'm going to cross over now." He said to her as he appeared in front of Thalia._

"_Alright," He said smiling at the girl who was surprised by his sudden appearance. "Show me the way."_

_Thalia recovered then nodded her head and led him out of the room. They silently walked through the castle as Thalia looked around in fear of being caught. After they arrived to her secret closet Xelloss followed her outside, then he suddenly felt a spike of fear. _

_Xelloss looked at Thalia thinking it came from her, when he realized I did not. Confused he followed her down the path of the garden till they reached the outer gates of the palace._

"_He is waiting just ahead." Thalia said calmly, as Xelloss silently followed._

_Abruptly, Xelloss heard a quiet mournful whisper._

_Xelloss . . ._

_Xelloss stopped walking in fear. It was Filia. She was in trouble._

_Then he felt the presence of another Mazoku. He looked up and noticed a young boy who looked like he was no older that fifteen._

"_Hello Xelloss, I am so glad you decided to agree to meet me." The boy said grinning. He had sandy blond hair and brown eyes. Behind him was the dragon that he saw with Rufus the night before, and another dragon he had never met. She had choppy violet hair, and deep magenta eyes._

_Xelloss briefly ignored him as he tried to call out to Filia._

_Filia, can you hear me? _

_There was silence in his mind as he called her out._

_FILIA!_


	14. The Darkness Of A Monster!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers.

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

**Chapter 14 – The Darkness Of A Monster?**

_Xelloss panicked as he continued to call out to Filia in his mind._

_Elias looked at Xelloss in mild interest, as Thalia watched in confusion, wondering what was wrong with him._

"_Oh how rude, here I was waiting on meeting you, and now you ignore me," Elias said disappointedly. "And after dear little Thalia brought you here."_

"_Elias," Thalia said quietly, "You're acting really strange." _

"_Oh please dear, you're much more useful when you are silent." Elias replied to her._

"_What did you say?" Thalia whispered her face glowing red._

_Xelloss ignored the both of them as he tried to communicate with Salvia and Daemon._

"_Aw what's wrong Xelloss, can't talk to your pet?" The blonde asked humorously drawling Xelloss attention._

_Xelloss eyes opened as he looked at the boy standing in front of him. He had never seen him before, but the Mazoku aura around him was unmistakable. Xelloss spoke to him in a low deadly voice._

"_Where is Filia?"_

"_Oh, now you have time to talk?" The Monster teased, as the two dragons behind him grinned. "I was beginning to think you were going to try an evade me." He grinned as he moved his bangs out of his face._

"_Perhaps we should relocate to a more, convenient space sir?" The small dragon girl suggested keeping her eye on Thalia._

"_Worried about the bystander Miriam?" The Gold behind her asked, grinning down at the younger dragon. _

_Miriam switched her gaze from Thalia to a glare at the Gold. "Some dragons still have morals."_

_Master, Xelloss thought._

_What is it Xelloss?_

_I cannot communicate with Filia, Salvia or Daemon. Something is wrong._

_I will look in to it. What about the traveler._

_He is a Mazoku._

_Interesting, find out who he is, and bring him to me._

"_Mister Xelloss?" Thalia spoke quietly from behind Xelloss, her fear pouring from her._

"_Why so afraid Thalia?" Elias asked in a sweet voice staring at the redheaded girl. "What could be frightening you so?"_

_Thalia looked up at him as her knees shook. "I have a bad feeling, you feel different then you have before." She whispered, and then locked her eyes on to his. "You feel darker."_

_The boy laughed at her, smiling widely. "Miss Thalia, you are the Epitome of the Human race you know." He accused her as she looked up at him alarmed._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_My dear child, when I came here, you were blinded by my good looks and charm. Like all humans, you fell to the object of beauty. Then after I shared the information with you about how to protect humans from Monsters, you immediately sought out to try it, giving into power. Then lastly, when this monster arrived you feared he had been sent to punish you for the crimes which were committed, and immediately tracked me down, as if I was the cause of your misfortunes, not giving blame to your own lack of self restraint, and transgressions." _

"_That isn't why I came to you this morning," She defended her eyes widened. "You said you were traveling in pursue of information on Monsters." She stated._

"_Oh that was very much true." He chuckled. "But It was not to save humans."_

"_What are you talking about? Why would you have shown me and my brother what you did, if it wasn't for what you claimed?"_

"_Do you really think your inferior mind could understand how a Monster thinks?" Elias challenged._

_Thalia stared at him in puzzlement, before gasping loudly covering her mouth with her fingers as she realized what he was declaring. _

"_No!"_

_Elias laughed loudly at her horror stricken face._

_Xelloss watched as the showdown between the two unfolded. Zelas was currently checking on the statues of Filia and her companions, and in a true test of his loyalty, she told him to remain where he was. _

_Zelas or Filia._

_He always knew moments like this would arise, and he knew he would ALWAYS' take Zelas side, but knowing did not dull the anguish he felt as he stood there, in the midst of a pointless squabble, while Filia was out there, needing him. _

_He felt powerless, and he felt resentment._

_Elias continued to laugh at Thalia as she looked at him with betrayal in her eyes._

"_Why are you so defiant? Isn't it the purpose of a Monster to prey on the weak emotions of living things, to bring chaos in to the world?" He gloated. "It is really your fault, for being so trusting."_

"_Why did you do all this? Why would a monster give others information on how to defend against them?" she asked sharply._

"_Oh, don't you get it?" He asked her grinning as he extended a finger to Xelloss. "It was all for him." _

"_I am afraid I am not following your logic." Xelloss intervened bitterly._

"_Well then let me cast some darkness on the situation." Elias said cheerfully. "After all, information is your favorite thing."_

_Xelloss eyes narrowed as he watched the grinning teen walk up toward Thalia and wrapped his arm around her._

"_I came here, to find the strongest mage left in the world; I have actually been searching for one for a long time. My dragon friends did not have the capability's I required for what I had planned, so I sought out for a human." He began._

"_When I arrived in Zoana, I happened to witness this fiery girl sense one of my monsters under my regiment, so I staged a rescue attempt, gaining her trust as I began to interrogate her to see what kind of powers she possessed." Elias said, as Thalia scowled._

"_After a while I realized that she did not have the necessary powers I needed for my grand scheme, and I was about to continue on till she brought me a most wondrous gift." He said as his grin widened, causing Thalia to shut her eyes in shame and turned her head away from him. _

"_And what could that have been?" Xelloss asked as he eyes pierced in to the boys, humor aside._

"_Her brother." He announced, looking pleased. "He was perfect. Had the largest magical bucket capacity I've seen in years, maybe centuries. It only took a couple days to teach him a few magical tricks of mine, combining with a few of his own." He laughed._

"_So then, are you saying that you were the one to show him how to encase a Monster in a golem shell?" Xelloss declared staring at the joyful Mazoku._

"_That's right." Elias said. "My plan was finally able to move forward."_

"_I still do not see what you were trying to accomplish." Xelloss said to the boy._

"_That is the beauty of it."Elias said as he relished in his success._

"_I was able to pull something not even Greater Beastmaster Zelas could figure out." He laughed. "In the fear of being cut off from their powers, the Mazoku began to fear the unknown sorcerer, and I knew that Zelas would send her pets out in search of him. And knowing her, she would send out spies to also talk to the Dragon race for information." He revealed. Xelloss stared at him silently placing the pieces together._

"_She seemed to play her part well in my plan. How lucky I felt when I found out that she sent Filia out to the temples, something I have been waiting for, and this morning, when dear little Thalia told me that you were staying at the castle, I could have gagged in happiness." Elias laughed darkly. _

"_So what were you after, other than separating us?" Xelloss asked as he crossed his arms in front of him, impatiently waiting for the stories climax._

"_That is something I will not share with you." Elias said wiggling a finger in front of Xelloss. "I can't have you mentally warn you Mistress about that, I have been working to long on this plan to have it ruined." _

"_Sir, he says it is done." The Gold dragon told Elias abruptly._

"_Excellent." Elias said as he brought his hand up to Thalia's face, gently tracing his finger across her forehead moving her fiery red bangs to the side as he smiled down at her. She looked up at him in fear as he drank in her negative emotions, and sighed._

"_You have truly been a most useful tool." He whispered to her as his finger trailed down her cheek and then rested under her chin, pulling her face closer to his. "The end of the human race is drawling near, and it couldn't have happened without you." He stated to her horror, as he bent down and lightly kissed her cheek._

_Thalia's eyes widen in fear, as Elias released his hold on her and walked over to his dragon's companions. Shame and regret filled inside of her as she watched the Monster stare at Xelloss as if he was awaiting something. Then, faster than Thalia could have followed, Xelloss began to cry out in agony, as his body began to tear, revealing nothing but a void of space underneath._

_Xelloss fell to his knees as he was attacked invisibly from the astral plane, unable to defend against the sudden advance, weakly he looked up at Elias, who was smiling down at him._

"_Surprised? I don't blame you. Someone as old and powerful like you is pretty hard to overcome. I knew only a surprise attack could remove you from the fray." He shared, as Xelloss was attacked again, weakling him further._

_Xelloss looked up angrily as Kurokei appeared in front of him, holding on to a struggling Dexi, grinning madly as he kicked Xelloss in the face causing him to tumble forward._

"_Mister Xelloss!" Dexi shouted as she tried to release herself from Kurokei's tight grip._

"_Gieza, I think now would be the best time." Kurokei shouted to the gold standing besides Elias. The gold quickly walked over to Xelloss and grinned as his hand filled with holy light._

"_It's taken me practice to get this right, but I have successfully learned how to do this correctly." the gold taunted, as he raised his hand to Xelloss. "You know, instead of poisoning you this will halt your ability to heal your astral body, causing you to remain on the astral plan." He grinned at Xelloss._

"_This might sting a little." He joked as he filled Xelloss with the light. Xelloss felt his body become very heavy, unable to control the functions of it._

_Elias laughed loudly. "Gieza that is enough." _

"_Xelloss, for the time being I will let you live, you see I only wanted to get you out of the way, and during the time it will take you to heal, I will accomplish what I wanted to do." Elias sneered._

"_Mister Xelloss!" Dexi called out from Kurokei's grip, struggling to be set free._

"_And now my dear, what should I do with you?" Elias asked as he looked at the captive monster._

"_How about you let me go you piece of trash?" Dexi spat at him, as she continued to twist in Kurokei's grip._

"_And let you run off to that annoying Zelas and ruin everything?" Elias asked her as he as he walked over to Xelloss. "I think not."_

_Xelloss looked up at Elias as the monster placed his hand over him, and then phased them both to that astral plane. _

_In the void, Elias released Xelloss to float around. "I could just finish you off here, but I want to see your face when I kill your precious gold." He said as He released Xelloss._

"_Oh yeah, she isn't dead, yet." Elias reassured Xelloss, as he brushed his bangs out of his face. "But, that was the plan mind you, but it seems Kurokei didn't have the 'heart' to do it." He laughed. "Now then, from what we have seen from the effect of Gieza's light, you should start feeling hazy, I know it is not something a monster is used to, but lucky, it will keep you from being able to mentally communicate with anyone." He said as he patted what remained of his body. "Well, lucky for me anyway."_

_Elias stood up as he took one last look at Xelloss. "Well then, now is the best time, so I will be leaving you." He laughed as he phased back in to the physical realm leaving Xelloss to slowly heal. _

"THIS IS NOT JUST!" Amelia shouted, standing on the couch, pointing at the magical screen.

"Xelloss, how could you have been beaten so easily?" Lina said displeased staring at the monster that seemed to be filled with anger.

"Uh, Xelloss?" Lina asked hesitantly.

"Mister Xelloss?" Amelia asked as well.

Xelloss was not staring at the screen, but at the magic book, with his amethyst shards piercing at the magical novel.

"Glare all you want Xelloss," Nexus said up to the monster. "I am just showing you what will pass. In your defense, no one would have been able to have seen that coming." The book defended.

"Nexus, I don't think that is what he wants to hear right now." Filia scowled.

"Forgive me master." The book said sincerely up to the gold dragon.

"So Gieza was working for the monsters," Zelgadis said placing his hand under his chin in thought.

"Yeah, I knew I didn't like him." Lina commented.

Filia watched Xelloss curiously as her companions chatted. The cheerful persona stripped from him as he stared silently at nothing unparticular. Part of her wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, the other told her to stay away from him.

Ignoring common sense, she tapped his stiff shoulder, causing his intense gaze to fall on her.

"What is it Filia?" Xelloss asked her withdrawn.

"Xelloss, you said you didn't believe any of this," She began, "So why are you getting so worked up about what you saw?"

Xelloss stared at her for a second then moved his gaze from her. Filia stared at him in shock, as he didn't answer her, not even the usual, 'It's a Secret" bit.

"Look," She whispered to him so she could not be over heard, casting her blue eyes on his face intently. "If this story is true, then it is only a matter of time you ruin Elias plans and you will be back to your goofy old self." She said surely.

Xelloss didn't turn to look back at her.

"So then what are we going to watch next?" Gourry asked the enchanted book.

"I have been pondering how I wanted you to understand what happens next. Both points in the story have been halted, but I think I will wait to reveal what happens while both Filia and Xelloss are out of commission." Nexus said out loud. "But I think jumping to when Filia awaken is where we should continue."

"So then Mister Xelloss wasn't able to save Miss Filia." Amelia said sadly.

"No Amelia," Lina said annoyed. "He clearly didn't."

"Miss Lina, doesn't that displease you?" The tiny princess whined to the young sorcerers.

"Well, I can't say I like the thought of Xelloss being over powered by a lower monster," She said loudly, causing Xelloss to glare up at his favorite human, "But knowing him, he isn't going to take it sitting down. Elias will need to watch his back, because I have a sneaking suspicion he won't be around much longer."

Xelloss watched as everyone stared at him apprehensively, and decided that his serious demeanor was gaining more attention then he wanted, quickly he slapped on a fake façade and grinned down at Lina.

"Now miss Lina, you're going to make me blush." He whined to her, uncrossing his arms as he pulled the protesting girl in to a giant bear hug.

"Xelloss!" Lina shouted blushing as she struggled to be released by the imbalanced monster. "Let me go!"

Xelloss laughed as he released her, causing her to back away from him in fear.

"I wonder what will happen to Thalia and Dexi?" Gourry asked drawling everyone's attention.

"That is something I will have to show you after we are done following what will happen to Filia." Nexus replied to the bewildered blonde. "But for now, let's jump forward to when Filia awakens."


	15. Awakening! What What! Who!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I have new manga coming in the mail YAY!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

**Chapter 15 – Awakening? What What? Who?**

_My eyes are heavy, as deep, full breaths go in and out of my chest. My limbs are stiff and I not dare try to move them._

_A distant smell of smoke filled my nose, as warmth trailed across my body and the muffled sound of crackling filled my ears._

_Beyond that, I know nothing. _

_If only I had the strength to open my eyes, then maybe, everything will become clear, and I would no longer feel lost. _

_If only it could be that easy._

_An uncomfortable feeling of emptiness filled my stomach, and I wondered when I had last eaten, or when I last did anything?_

_Who was I?_

_Awareness began sweep through my brain as I took the last step out of my deep slumber, and into reality. Slowly, with strained effort, I pulled back my eyelids, and the lights of a fire hazily filled my sight. _

_Inside an unfamiliar room, with a fire place, covered in a thick comforter, I laid alone. Slowly my arms came to life as I pulled myself up in the bed. To my right was a large window, showing a town below I did not recognize, as the sun was setting splashing vibrant colors across the sky._

_I slowly turned my head to the left, as golden hair fell over my shoulders spilling on to the bed. I saw door, and beside it was a bookshelf and a large Mirror. As I slowly rose from the bed, the golden haired women in the refection moved with me. Her face was unfamiliar and confused. I turned my head from her as I slowly stepped toward the window, leaving her behind._

_Out the window, I looked down on a large city, a town I have no remembrance of. There were hardly any trees or any sign of the ocean's waves. That seemed to cause me discomfort for some reason. _

_I turned from the window to face the woman in the mirror once more, she hesitantly walked toward me as I advanced on her, and then we meet face to face. Her calm azure eyes looked at me cautiously as I cleared my dry throat. She had on a pale green dress that hung from her chest, down to her knees; it was wavy at the bottom and was tight at the top. Her shoulders were bare, as were her long arms and legs, and golden hair fell all around her frame as a few inches of it laid lazily on the floor. _

"_Who are you?" A soft soprano voice slipped from me as I stared at myself in the mirror. _

_As no answer came from the mirror, or her mind, the gold turned from the mirror slowly and walked over to the door and placed her hand on the cool brass door knob, twisting it then pushed the door open._

_A large hallway filled her sight as she stepped forward from the room in to the unknown corridor. Her bare feet walked slowly on the soft lined floor, as she stared up at the large paintings on the walls. The farther she walked down, the older the pictures became. Then, she came across the largest painting, which looked rather old. In the picture, a young woman stood smiling calmly. She had long raven colored hair, with chopped bangs and blue green eyes. Under the portrait was some old writing that read,_

_Sylphiel Nels Lahda_

_Mother of Sairaag_

_The gold, hesitantly, raised her hand to the portrait, and placed her hand on the cheek of the woman. She looked so peaceful, and familiar. As she looked at her, the gold felt her sprits lift._

_A soft footstep reached her pointy ears and she turned to see a woman, looking at her apprehensively, with rose colored eyes. She walked up to her, and crossed her arms and glanced at the portrait._

"_That is Sylphiel Nels Lahda, of Sairaag." The woman explained, "She was known as the Mother of Sairaag. History says she was a priestess to the Flare Dragon Cepheid, and after a misfortune hit Sairaag, and the town was destroyed, Lady Sylphiel helped the survivors rebuild the town, and her kindness was known through the Empire of Lyzelle." The woman spoke softly, her dark cherry brown hair glowing as the sunset's ray's casted over her._

"_This is her castle, it has been remodeled over the many years, but it has always been kept close to the original design. It is one of the oldest surviving castles of the world." She continued, as she turned her gaze to her._

"_Sylphiel was my great ancestor, and I believe you knew her did you not Filia?" She asked the gold looking at her with expectant eyes._

_Filia's eyes widen as she had spoken her name, but she felt no familiarity to it. She looked back up at the painting, but could not remember anything of the face._

"_You really have forgotten everything haven't you?" The woman asked earnestly._

_Filia not knowing what to say nodded her head to the stranger. The woman looked at her for a second, and then scratched her head. She was really thin, and looked rather sick._

"_Pardon me, but, a-are you unwell?" Filia asked tentatively, as she stared at the woman concerned._

"_Oh, twelve years of starvation and being over work can run a person down." The woman said absentminded as she waved her hand in the air, "But don't you worry about that, I am fine, how about some food?" She asked, "I don't know when you last ate, it's at least been over a day cause you came to us yesterday morning." She said._

"_I am hungry, but I don't mean to impose." Filia said quietly, looking down at her bare feet._

"_You're not." The woman said simply, as she began to lead Filia down the hall._

"_Thank you." Filia said sincerely to the dark haired woman._

"_So you really can't recall anything, can you? That must be frustrating. You can still talk and walk though, so it's not completely hopeless." The woman said as they walked. _

"_I don't know who I am, or where I am. I'm afraid I don't know who you are either." She apologized._

"_Well that's ok; you didn't know me before you lost your memory so I figured you didn't know me anyways." The woman reassured her._

_Filia clasped her hands together, as they walked to an unseen destination. Slowly fumbling her thumbs together._

"_Don't look so sad, that Monster guy said you would regain your memory after some time." The woman said._

_Monster?_

_They arrived at a large kitchen, and the woman walked over to an older looking man who was sitting at a table in the room, and she lightly kissed his forehead. The man smiled at her sweetly, and then looked up to Filia._

"_I am glad to see you have awoken." He said to her in a calm voice. He looked much older than the woman, he had ruby red eyes and his shiny black hair was graying. His body looked like he was once muscular, but due to lack of nutrition his body has worn down over a long span of years, causing him to look even older than he was._

"_Filia, this is my husband, Gerald." She introduced, as she affectingly moved some of the man's thinning hair to the side, than took a seat next to the man, her dark curls bouncing as she did. She motioned for Filia to sit beside her._

_Filia sat down beside her as the woman watched her with her observant pink eyes. A young man walked over to the three of them, placing glasses of water in front of them, then handed them each a small menu._

_Filia looked at the items and recalled none of them. She looked over at the two hoping for some help._

"_We will all take one of this," The woman pointed to an item on the list, "And water will be enough for him and me, we are still having trouble digesting, we don't want to overdo it." She said to him. _

"_Of course my Lady, and for you miss?" He asked Filia._

"_What?" she blinked up at him causing him to blush lightly._

"_To drink ma'am?"_

_Filia looked over the list and could not recognize which was drinks, so she asked politely, "What do you have?"_

"_We have Limeade, Fizzy drinks, Tea, and Wine." He recited with perfection._

"_Um," Filia thought, pulling the world that felt the most familiar, "Tea?"_

"_Right away Madame." He said as he walked away with their order._

"_Filia," The woman said grabbing her attention, "If you're hungry for more than what we ordered, I don't mind going over the menu with you, it probably doesn't help that you can read chicken, but not know what it is." She stated._

"_Thank you." Filia said to the woman as she took a drink of her water, healing her dry throat._

"_It will probably take some time for us to be able to eat regular again." Gerald said down to the dark haired women. "Our stomachs can't handle much right now."_

"_For how long have I imagined eating cake, and know that I can have one in front of me, the idea of eating it makes me feel sick." She replied to him looking disturbed. _

"_Uh, could I ask, what happened?" Filia asked looking at them hesitantly. Gerald looked at the woman who smiled at him, then he turned to look at Filia._

"_Miss Filia, we were enslaved at a Monster ranch for over twelve years." He began._

"_Do you remember what a monster is Filia?" The woman asked her._

_Filia felt a familiarity to the word, but could not remember why, as she shook her head. _

"_Perhaps we should wait, until she regains some of her memories?" He asked the woman beside him._

"_Gerald, she will remember what you tell her now when she regains them." She pointed out._

"_Of course my dear." He chuckled. "So, Monsters are beings in the world that strive for the world to return to the Sea of Chaos, to return to our mother, The Lord of Nightmares," He began again as he took a drink from his own water glass, his red eyes staring from Filia to the woman._

"_Monsters feed off the emotions of living beings, negative emotions. So for a monster to capture humans and put them through hard labor and extreme conditions, it like having an all you can eat buffet" He sad displeased. "My wife and I were captured while traveling home from Seyruun after setting up an arranged marriage for our youngest daughter." He said to her, as Filia nodded her head to show she kinda understood._

"_There at the ranch, they would hardly feed us, and make us work all day long, and sometimes they would refuse to allow us to sleep at night to keep the moral low. They would trick us ever so often, pretending to release us, only to re-capture us later to crush our hopes."_

_Filia listened sadly, feeling depressed by his tale._

"_And then, yesterday, a young woman appeared at the ranch, she was short and said she worked for a higher level Mazoku, and claimed that our moral was still too high, and declared she was going to fix the problem." He said to her, his eyes looking haunting._

"_So what happened?" Filia asked fearfully._

"_She had all the people gather at the center of the ranch, and told everyone to join hands." He said slowly. "Then next thing we all knew, we were transported out of the ranch."_

"_Where did she send you?" Filia asked honestly. _

_Gerald looked over at his wife, as she smiled up at him, then to Filia. "She was just a distraction for the person who really released us. It was a dragon. A Golden Dragon." She said slowly._

_The worlds she spoke rung inside Filia like a loud, distant bell in the back of her brain, ringing to be remembered._

"_Was that, Me?"_

_The woman looked up at her, her eyes glossy with appreciation, and nodded her head. "Yes Miss Filia, You. We all believed it was another trick by the Mazoku, to be tormented further for their greedy appetite. You tried to reassure us but we would not give in, until the monster returned, wounded and you both left claiming to fight the monsters. We all waited in fear of return of the monsters, and then we realized they were not coming." She said smiling brightly._

"_Freedom." Gerald said as if it was the most beautiful word known to man._

_Filia felt pride swell inside her as she looked at their happy faces. Then her smile fell as she looked at them confused. _

"_But then, how did I end up with you?" Filia asked confused._

"_That is the weird part." The woman said to her. "After we all disbursed from where we were released, Gerald and I began to set out for home, and since Sairaag was along the way, we headed west to visit my home town, and as we were traveling, a monster appeared before us, carrying you unconscious with him." She said._

"_We of course were frightened he came for us, but instead, he handed you to me, and told me that we were to care for you till you regained your memories." Gerald intervened. "He said you would have no memories of who you are or anything."_

"_Then, the guy threatened us, saying if you were harmed, or taken from us, he would unleash horror that would surpass the torment we endured over the past twelve years." The woman said to her._

"_I am so sorry to inconvenience you." Filia said tears forming in her eyes. _

"_You stop that." The lady said her magenta eyes flaring. "You saved us; if anything we are honored to keep you safe." _

_The waiter returned with their food and Filia's tea. After placing it all on the table, he smiled and walked away. Filia looked at her tea, as the steam rose from the cup, swiveling in the air above the warm surface, and she released she like that. The scent also rose from the cup and filled her nose in a heavenly smell that caused her to relax. She brought the warm liquid to her mouth, and drank._

_The warm taste that her taste buds remembered more than her mind, slid down her throat and warmed her whole body, causing her cheeks to flush lightly, as she sighed out loud. Ah, she did love a good cup of tea._

_She smiled at her small discovery about herself as she began to eat her dinner, while the lady and her husband ate in silence._

"_It's amazing," The lady said after a while, unable to finish her meal. "The quiet is so calm and wonderful." She sighed as her husband wrapped his arm around her as she leaned on to him. _

"_When things are this calm it is hard to believe something is not waiting to ruin it." Gerald whispered to her._

_Filia watched them, feeling happy for them as she finished her meal. When she was done she raised her royal purple napkin to her face wiping it off. After she finished, she stared down at the napkin mesmerized._

"_What is wrong Miss Filia?" Gerald asked her curiously._

"_I was just thinking," Filia answered, looking at the napkin. "That this is a very beautiful color." She said blushing lightly, confused why her body was reacting that way. _

"_Perhaps there is a reason you feel that way." The woman said looking at the blushing dragon._

_Filia smiled and placed the napkin down gently then looked back up at the lady. "I forgot to ask you what your name was." She said politely._

"_It is Leila Zoana Ilsa Navratilova." She replied, "But that is a mouthful you can call me Leila." She said. _

"Oh My God! Miss Lina-" Amelia shouted abruptly in an astounded voice, pointing at the enchanted screen, "That is Thalia's mother and father!" she stated with wide eyes.

"I know!" Lina shouted excited, "I figured that out."

"Hey Lina," Gourry began, "Where is Sairaag? It sounds familiar."

"Aaaaaahh!" Lina screamed as she jumped up and pounded the blonde. "Honestly Gourry, how many times do we have to go there before you remember it?"

"It looks like Filia isn't the only forgetful one." Zelgadis humored.

"Please don't place me in the same category as Mister Gourry." Filia asked, irritated by the chimera's remark as she crossed her arms in anticipation, waiting for Xelloss to add to the comment.

But none came.

Filia looked up hesitantly at Xelloss wonder why the Monster was so quiet, and when she saw him, she decided he was still sulking about being caught. Xelloss sat beside her, his arms crossed and his eyes open watching the screen, no longer in his cheerful façade.

Unable to stand his silence, even if it meant him taking a crack at her, she decided to try and engage him in conversation.

"So what do you think Xelloss, do you have any ideas on how this story is going to unfold?" she asked him curiously. Xelloss drew his eyes from the screen and looked down at Filia with his sharp eyes.

"I always have a few ideas." He replied, causing Filia to puff her cheeks in anger, _that cocky bastard! _

"Well of course you do," she grinned at him. "Namagomi."

Xelloss stared at her for a second, and then turned his gaze back on to the screen silently. This caused Filia to abrupt with repressed anger, as she jumped from her seat, surprising him as she latched herself on to his back pulling on his hair fiercely.

"Ah, Fili-" He began to shout in protest at the crazy dragon on his back.

"GOD DAMNIT XELLOSS! Your pouty attitude is pissing me off!" She shouted in a language that was so colorful it had to have been inspired by hanging out with Lina to much. She shouted as she continued to pull on his hair angrily.

"Get over yourself, and start acting normal!" she yelled as she released his hair and grabbed him in a head lock.

"I think Miss Filia has snapped." Amelia said in fear as she watched her friend strangle Xelloss.

"Try and ignore them." Zelgadis said annoyed. "And they try to pretend they don't like each other."

"Why would Miss Filia try to strangle Mister Xelloss if she liked him?" Amelia asked Zelgadis confused.

"I don't want to even try to understand them." He replied shaking his head.

"Filia," Xelloss wheezed, "No air, can't, Breath."

"Suck it up you fruitcake, Monsters don't need to breath!" She shouted, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Should we stop them?" Gourry asked looking down at Lina.

"Do you possess that kind of courage?" she asked him seriously, causing him to look at the dragon and monster tangled mess.

"Ah, no I guess not."

"Come on Filia! I'm sorry," Xelloss pleaded to the frantic dragon, and then grinned "I'm sorry my mood affects you so much."

Filia stopped suddenly, and glared down at him. "Don't you suggest such a vile thing?"

Xelloss smile spread across his face, as he placed his hands on him hips, and his eyes closed "Oh dear, how much I must mean to you, all I have to do is ignore you and I have you swearing, yelling, and now you can't keep your hands off me." He laughed loudly, as her face flushed in anger and shame.

"Shut up!" She shouted, untangling her grip on him as she to climb down off him. She sat back down on the couch and crossed her arms and legs in anger, glaring up a Xelloss.

He looked at her for a second then grinned at her anguish and skipped happily over to the angry dragon and sat beside her, prepared to continue watching the screen.

"Oh, Mister Zelgadis, now they are sitting beside each other," She narrated to the chimera that had his back turned to the group as he banged his head in to the enchanted wall.

"Um, should we continue then?" Nexus asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, If we can ALL control ourselves." Lina added in as she glared at both Amelia and Filia.

"All right then, on we go." Nexus said as the rest of the group returned to their seats.

Filia glared at Xelloss grinning face once more before she snapped her head away from him with a dramatic 'Hmpf', and secretly, as she looked away from him, a small smile spread across her face, _well, at least that put him in a better mood._


	16. Arriving At The Air Dragon Temple!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. BUUUUT I do have today off YAY FOR ME!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever. _

**Chapter 16 – Arriving at the Air Dragon Temple?**

"_So then Miss Leila, what were your plans now that you're free?" Filia asked the woman looking over her and she took a sip of her new cup of tea the kind waiter brought her._

"_Well, Gerald and I have been away from home for a long time, and we are eager to see our children. You know, my youngest was only a year old when we were abducted." Leila said sadly, tugging on one of her dark ringlets._

_Filia looked at the woman in horror, feeling a sharp pain in her heart. "To be separated from your children must have been the worst part of the past twelve years." She said sympathetically._

_Leila looked at Filia with hurt eyes, "It was, it really was."_

"_So then, you said that Sairaag was on the way to your home." Filia added moving the topic away from such a sensitive topic. "How far is your home from here?"_

_Leila looked at her cautiously then reluctantly replied, "Well, it is down past the coast of the Empire of Lyzelle, Zoana is a lot smaller than most kingdoms, it's size is only a quarter of what the kingdom of Zefielia is." _

"_We don't have the money to be transported by teleporter, and it is a couple of week's journey by foot or ride, so we are hoping of finding a faster approach." Gerald said eyeing Filia calmly._

"_Oh, I see." Filia said not really knowing what they were talking about. "So when were you going to leave for this Zoana?" she asked them curiously._

"_Well, we both have already slept here today, so we wanted to start moving tonight if possible, but we have another destination before we can set out for Zoana." Leila said calmly._

"_And where would that be?" Filia asked her._

"_Well you see, yesterday, the Monster who dropped you off to us wasn't the only visitor we received yesterday." She said slowly._

_Filia looked at her surprised wondering where she was going with this bit of information. Gerald looked from Filia to Leila, and then took another drink from his water glass._

"_Who was it?" Filia asked._

"_The most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Leila said, almost breathless. "She appeared before us as we were traveling." _

_Filia listened closely to the woman's tale, trying to grab something out of her words that she could remember or recognize._

"_So what did she want?" Filia asked._

"_She said that she was searching for you, and that you were causing a lot of trouble. She acted annoyed, but I think she was relieved to find you." Leila pointed out. "She told me to tell her how we came across you and we told her about what the monster told us, and what he would do if you were taken from us."_

"_She became interested when we told her we were heading for Zoana." Gerald said gruffly._

"_Yeah, so then she said that she felt it was best you stay with us, and requested that we stopped in Sairaag till you woke up. Then she said when you woke up, we were to head for the tower of wind, and in return, she would send someone to teleport us to Zoana, so we did not have to travel for weeks to return home."_

"_What a nice sounding lady." Filia replied in awe._

"_Um, no. She was scary as hell." Leila said shivering._

"_So then where is this Tower of Wind?" Filia asked her curiously._

"_It is a way's from Sairaag, but we should reach there on foot in a couple of hours."Gerald said as he put his finished glass gently down on the table._

_Filia looked out the window in the kitchen and noticed the bluish pink sky. "The sun will be down soon."_

"_Well at least it's a full moon." Leila said encouraging._

"_Dear, the full moon was last night." Gerald corrected the woman._

"_Oh, whatever, if you ask me, you can't tell the difference, the moon is still bright as hell." She replied. _

_Filia looked out at the setting sun and felt uneasy about travelling at night. Perhaps she was a day person then. _

"_By the way Filia, your clothes were destroyed, so we had the maids change your clothes for you. We kept your boots and your mace thought, but um-" Leila paused as Gerald grabbed a pair of grey boots, a mace, and a black piece of lace, "They were all so heavy, Gerald had to hang on to them."_

_Filia jumped up and grabbed the mace and held it affectionately feeling really excited. "Oh thank you!" she shouted joyfully._

_Filia froze after a moment and looked down at Leila and Gerald's confused expressions then laughed nervously. "Apparently this means a great deal to me." She said blushing as she sat back down._

"_That must have been a reflex." Leila whispered to Gerald with her eyebrow raised as the other twitched._

_Filia grabbed the piece of lace and looked at it questionably. "What is this?"_

_Gerald blushed lightly as he coughed. Leila began to laugh and said, "It's a garter, you kept that mace strapped to you leg with that thing."_

_Filia looked at it for a moment then rose from her chair to pull the silky black fabric up her leg. She placed the handle of her mace underneath the lace and moved her hands away from it as it stayed in place._

"_Huh, that is extraordinary." She exclaimed feeling much more comfortable with the heavy weight of the mace on her side._

"_These were your boots Miss Filia," Gerald said as he handed her the things as if they were really heavy. When Filia took them from him she thought they were pretty light._

"_They appear to have titanium or something stronger in the heels and soles of the shoes." He said to her looking at her comically._

"_Titanium?" Filia asked confused._

"_Well yeah, a dragon weights the equivalent of their dragon form when they are in their human form, so it would be rather difficult to wear high heeled shoes wouldn't it?" Leila asked amused._

_Filia didn't really know what they were talking about, but she pulled the boots on to her feet and stood up, feeling taller, and more natural._

"_Alright, we should head out then shouldn't we?" Leila said excitedly as she stood up. _

"I might as well stop right there." Nexus stated suddenly, as the images froze on the screen.

"What's the matter?" Filia asked the book.

"Nothing really happens from here that would interest anyone, so I thought I would just skip ahead to when you arrives at the Tower of Wind." He replied back to her.

"You know Filia; I had always been curious how you could walk around in heels, without breaking the shoes heel." Lina said happily.

"Well yes, I have to custom make all my boots." Filia replied blushing slightly.

"But why go through the trouble? You're already tall." Gourry asked confused.

"Oh my, I know why." Xelloss piped in as he raised his finger in the air. "It's because they make her feel sexy."

Filia's face flushed in anger as she glared at the monster. "That is not it at all!"

"Well, I admit that we are so use to seeing Filia in heels that it would seem strange to see her in anything different." Zelgadis added to the conversation.

"Mister Zelgadis," Amelia said looking at the chimera darkly, "Are you suggesting that you find Filia good looking in heels?"

Zelgadis looked at Amelia confused, and then looked at Filia, "Well they don't look bad on her." He suggested trying to make everyone happy.

Amelia looked down at her own flat boots and then glared up at Zelgadis.

"So are you saying flat shoes are UNSEXY mister Zelgadis?" Amelia shouted, causing Zelgadis sweat drop.

"Uh, no, that's not what I meant at all." He said cautiously.

"Or being so short look unpleasing to you?" she yelled again, unknown why she was getting so defensive.

"Amelia, I think you're fine just the way you are." Zelgadis said to her, as her face changed from angry to pleased in an instant.

"You mean it?" She asked looking up at him with glossy wide eyes, causing Zel to back up in fear of the overzealous girl.

"Uh, yeah." He said hesitantly.

Amelia sighed in happiness as her soul floated euphorically out of her body.

"Ugh, someone make her stop." Xelloss whined weakly; hurt by the gleeful princess's happiness.

"Oh come on Xelloss, try and feed off her happiness, then you won't feel sick." Filia told him grinning slyly.

"Oh Filia, that would be impossible. A Monster could never really feed off of positive emotions." Xelloss complained to her in his nasally voice.

"I think it taste like sunshine and lollipops." Nexus said nonchalantly.

Everyone stared at the book in fear.

"Lollipops? Where?" Gourry shouted looking around, "Hey Lina, I owe you one remember!" He shouted brightly looking down at her.

"I try not to." She said as she held her head in her hand.

"Anyway don't you think we should continue? I have a feeling were not even close to the end of this story, and I would like to hastily get to the end." Zelgadis said impatiently, with a huge blush on his face, as he held the cuddly Amelia.

Amelia suddenly jumped off of him and landed standing on top of the back of the couch pointing up. "Wonderful idea as always Mister Zelgadis! Let us resume the story to watch Justice triumph!" She shouted happily.

"Amelia, just to make things clear," Lina asked as she looked up at the girl standing above her on the couch, "Who are you considering just in the future?"

"The ones on the side of good will always are on the side of justice in the eyes of Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun!"

"Why did I even ask?" Lina sighed shaking her head.

Filia laughed as she looked at her friend's bewildered face, as she turned to look at Xelloss who still looked weak.

"Well, isn't life marvelous?" She grinned happily to the Mazoku who looked at her in fear.

"Oh, Don't you start too Filia!" He whined honestly, making her laugh in delight.

"So basically, the three set off from the castle of Sylphiel, and headed to the Tower of Wind, and nothing really happened on the way there." Nexus narrated as the screen flickered with images once again.

_Filia walked quietly behind Gerald and Leila and wondered how the two had the strength to walk so far after being so weak for so long. It must be the drive of knowing they are close to reuniting with their children._

_The thought of children, set an uncomfortable feeling on her heart. She thought as they walked, about things she could remember about her life, and could think of nothing. Did she have children? If she did, where were they? If she didn't, then where did she belong?_

_As they continued to walk the trees began thinning out as they got closer to the edge of the forest._

"_You know, it is really unusual to travel through the forest." Leila spoke up suddenly._

"_Most people don't travel on foot anymore; at least they didn't before we were imprisoned." Gerald commented to his younger wife._

"_How do people travel then?" Filia asked confused._

"_There are devices built all over to teleport people, but teleport passports are really expensive which we have no money right now, and since Leila and I don't have any documents on our identity's, we would not qualify for them anyways." Gerald explained to Filia._

_Nodding her head, Filia sighed not understanding anything he said and continued to walk toward the opening of the forest ahead. _

_Filia looked past the clearing of the forest and saw the bright reflection of the moon, waving in the large dark pool ahead of them. She took a deep breath as the smell of salt water filled her nose, and the sound of waves filled her ears, which both brought her comfort. _

"_You know, the Tower of Wind is not accessible by humans." Leila said to Filia as she turned to look at the glowing sand in the moon light._

"_We do not possess the magic needed to arrive at the tower of wind." She pointed out to Filia._

"_But for a dragon, you should be able to arrive there." Gerald said uncertainly. Filia walked out of the forest in to the glowing white sand. She looked around the unfamiliar place, her skin glowing in the moon light, as her long hair flowed behind her in a high ponytail. _

_When she stepped out in to the middle of the sand, she looked around for some kind of clue to why she was there. Was someone going to be waiting on her, or was someone expecting her to remember something when she arrived._

_A warm breeze swept past Filia as she stood still in the hot sand. She turned back to her two companions who were also looking around examining what was to come._

"_I don't want to question you; since I know nothing as of now, but are you sure this is where we were meant to go?" Filia ask them hesitantly._

_Leila scratched the back of her head and looked up a Gerald. "Well, since the Tower of Wind isn't on the physical plane, this is the closest place a human can come to where it is." She said._

"_And the lady you met yesterday told you to bring me here?" Filia added._

"_Yeah, she said when you woke up to head for the Tower of Wind. She said that we would be rewarded if you came here." She continued._

"_Perhaps she didn't believe you would wake up so late?" Gerald questioned out loud._

"_No, actually, we thought she wouldn't wake for another day or so." A low bored voice spoke out._

_Filia, Leila, and Gerald looked around for the source of the voice but could not find it. Then close to Filia, a figure phased in front of her._

"_At least before, when you were poisoned by miasma, you were out for three days. This time however, the scum who poisoned you seemed to have better control of what he was doing, since he was poisoning you on purpose." The figure stated. _

"_Were you sent here by the lady we met yesterday?" Leila asked the short figure._

_The person turned around and looked at Leila, causing the woman to gasp. Her skin was pale and glowed eerily under the moonlight. She had a short black bob of hair, and a red ribbon in tied in it. She was small, but her piercing stone colored eyes made her look menacing._

"_I saw you yesterday." Leila said pointing at the tiny girl. "You were the one who was talking to us before Filia transported us from the monster ranch." She said slightly fearful._

"_You don't need to fear me," The girl said calmly to the woman. "I am not here to take you back to that place; all the monsters that were there have been destroyed by my comrade." She said._

"_So then, you really were working with Miss Filia to help the prisoners?" Gerald asked the girl._

_She looked at him, uninterested and replied, "Pretty much."_

_Filia stared down at the tiny girl in confusion. She felt like she should know who she was, but she could not recall. The girl looked up and gazed at her._

"_Your memory has been cleared, hasn't it Filia?" She asked her, not sounding concerned. Filia slowly nodded her head at the girl._

_She sighed and blinked her light eyes. "Salvia." She said simply. Filia looked at her for a moment then began to smile. _

"_I don't remember you, but I feel like I know you." She said hoping that explained how she felt._

"_Well yeah, I knew you forgotten, because if you hadn't you would have been bombarding me with questions on how I was still alive." The bobbed girl replied tiredly._

"_Alive?" Filia questioned._

"_We were in a fight yesterday together, and your dramatic mind probably thought I was slain in battle because I took a powerful attack during." Salvia said as she straightened the hem of her red jumper._

"_But you didn't die?" Filia continued._

"_Obviously."_

_Filia over looked the girls sarcasm as the girl walked over to the couple._

"_Lord Beastmaster asked me to take you to Zoana once Filia was delivered to me." She said to them, as their eyes widened in anticipation._

"_We were told not to leave her side though." Leila said calmly._

"_Beastmaster told me that as well, and she has someone at the castle of Zoana waiting on your arrival, in case someone would try to attack you." Salvia replied to her, and then looked over at Fila briefly before saying, "His name is Val, and you'll find him highly dependable."_

_Filia's eyes widened as the thought of a teal haired man flashed though her mind. Tears formed in her eyes as she desperately tried to remember who he was. _

_Salvia watched Filia for a moment then sighed. She placed her hands on the two and said, "Well then are you ready?" She asked the two._

_Leila looked at Gerald, as tears formed in her eyes, feelings of fear and excitement waved inside her. "Yes, oh please."_

_Salvia nodded her head and began to transport them away._

"_Thank you for all you have done." Filia said to them._

"_You're welcome, good luck with retrieving your memory." Leila said back to her._

_Salvia looked up at Filia, and said, "Stay put."_

_Then they vanished._

_Filia stood there for a few moments, feeling alone and empty. Her thoughts betrayed her as she continued to call upon the images of the man again but none came to her mind. Suddenly, without warning, see began to scream out in frustration._

"_WHAT IS GOING ON? WHO AM I, AND WHO IS VAL?" She yelled out at the ocean. "WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER ANYTHING?"_

_The silence waved over her again, causing her to shiver in loneliness, and then she let out a loud defining scream._

'_Whoa, those are some powerful feelings!'_

_Filia stopped screaming and looked around for the source of the voice in her mind, no body appeared._

'_W-Who are you?'_

_She thought in her head feeling a little crazy. What if this was a side effect for the poison Salvia was talking about._

'_Oh My, Silly dragon, you forgotten me, I'm so hurt!'_

_The voice laughed in her mind causing her to clutch her fist, this voice, seemed to want to make her angry for some reason, and she didn't like it._

'_Maybe it is a good thing I forgotten who you are, you don't seem very friendly' She thought in her head annoyed by the voice in her head as she crossed her arms._

'_Filia', the voice said more seriously, 'you need to be more careful, don't let your goodness blind you from the deception of others. If anything happens to you, I cannot save you. Zelas has commanded me to stay away from you for the time being. You may not remember anything right now, but know this; your life means a lot to others, You have two very worried dragons waiting for your return, and,'_

_The voice paused for a second,_

_And?_

_Filia stood there silently waiting for the voice to reply back to her, and after a moment she thought maybe the whole thing was her imagination._

_Uh, are you still there?_

_There was more silence till she assumed nobody was there. She looked out at the ocean and then to the moon. It was glowing brightly as it was raised above the waters in front of her, rings around its bright features._

"_Who was that?" Filia finally asked out loud, as she sighed sadly._

_Salvia appeared in front of her, looking slightly displeased. "Stupid monster." She complained as she walked up to Filia._

"_He spoke to you didn't him?" She asked annoyed. Filia looked at the shorter girl and nodded her head._

"_He should have known that Lord Zelas would cut him off." Salvia said looking displeased, and then looked at Filia, "He asked me to tell you something." She said unhappily._

_Filia looked down at her wondering what the mysterious voice had to say to her._

"_What did he say?" she asked, slightly eager._

"_He said, 'And, That's a Secret." _

_Filia looked at her confused, then laughed lightly, "What a strange thing to say." She laughed then thought for a second, whatever that meant, it made her feel very happy._

"_Yeah he thinks he's cute." Sal said looking bored. "So anyway I think it is time we continued our mission." _

_Filia looked at her confused. "Our mission?"_

"_For Beastmaster Zelas." Salvia said to her. "But for now we can do nothing but wait."_

"_Wait on what?" Filia asked confused again._

"_Daemon to return." Salvia replied simply._


	17. Memories, All Alone In The Moonlight!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. I do own a sad helping of writers block thought. (Sad face)

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 17 – Memories, All Alone In The Moonlight?**

_Salvia and Filia sat by the ocean for many hours without speaking to one another. Salvia, Filia discovered was a quiet person, and would usually only speak if she was directly asked a question. Filia wondered if she was just like that or she was trying to be sensitive to Filia's condition._

_The bright moon began to lose its radiance as the night passed on and Filia began to grow impatient. _

"_Why couldn't we join Daemon?" Filia asked the small girl, hoping for an improvement on the silence between them._

"_Daemon has traveled to the Tower of Wind to speak to Air Lord Valwin. A monster like I could not peacefully talk to him, and Lord Zelas decided it was too risky to send you, seeing you have already been harmed and could not defend against him like Daemon can." _

"_Why would I need to defend against a Dragon Airlord?" Filia wondered aloud._

"_Seeing as you are on the side of the monsters, The Air lord of the dragons might not see your point of view on why you switch of sides."_

"_But it was for a good reason," Filia said hopeful, "Wasn't it?"_

"_You had your reasons, which I don't know the details to all of them, but the primary ones I do. So yes, by your noble standards, you took the reasonable path by choosing to side with Lord Zelas."_

"_I think I'm beginning to remember more about that." Filia stated._

"_You're still healing from the Miasma poisoning, so as your body cleans out the toxins, your mind will begin to clear. I believe this has only happened to you once before, and from what I have seen, the more exposed you are to the poison, the quicker you body heals it's self."_

"_Does that mean that if exposed to it often enough, one could eventually become immune to it?" _

"_Not at all." Salvia shook her head, "No matter how many times your body is filled with the toxin, your body will be harmed by it, or even destroyed." Salvia said in a less bored voice than usual._

"_You seem to know a lot about it." Filia said calmly._

"_It's because of Daemon." The girl said calmly, "How do you think he survived the attack?"_

_Filia stared at the tiny monster in shock, at the words she had just spoken to her. The flash of a memory pierced through her mind as she began to remember watching a tall man being attacked by a spell, then the spell when through her as well._

_Filia placed her hand on her own stomach, while her mind began to relive the pain. If these thoughts were valid and not sprouted by her own imagination, neither the man nor her should still be alive._

_She had almost died, she remembered. Kurokei had healed her almost immediately, after attacking her while he also contaminated her with the miasma. If she had almost died in mere minutes, how could Salvia healed her astral body quick enough to heal the dying Daemon?_

_It didn't add up in Filia's mind._

_Salvia sighed beside Filia, as she felt the dragon's emotion spiral in an undecided path. The Monster not liking where the conversation was headed, decided that she needed to switch the tracks of the path their train was set on._

"_Filia do you remember our mission?"_

_Filia thought this over for a second then replied, "Were on a mission from Lord Zelas to visit the Dragon temples to validate that all the dragons have colonized at the Fire dragon temple, and also search for information on-" Filia paused thinking hard about how to finish that sentence but seemed to be struggling. "I have no idea actually."_

"_Well, at least you have that much." Sal said simply looking away from her and stared out at the waves of the sea._

"_There was something else too." Filia whispered seriously, "Something we weren't supposed to talk about."_

"_It was more about you not telling Xelloss." Sal said absentmindedly._

"_Xelloss? The man I talked to earlier?" Filia asked curiously._

"_Yep."_

"_I wasn't suppose to tell him,-" She thought out loud, trying to remember what she was suppose to hid from him._

_Then as if a door was opened, her memories of Lord Zelas talking to Filia, Sal and Daemon about their mission gushed in to her mind, causing her to jump up in surprise._

"_Kurokei!" She shout out looking over at Sal's confused eyes. "I remember now, the monster Kurokei, Lord Zelas was aware if his betrayal and she sent him on this mission so that we could find out what his motives were. We already knew before the mission started that he would try and betray us and I couldn't tell Xelloss because-"She paused and then blushed lightly. "-because were involved. He would have not liked the idea of me being in the presence of the traitor and now, since Kurokei may return, Lord Zelas probably didn't tell Xelloss what happened between Kurokei and us because he would have end up trying and succeeding in killing him, and Lord Zelas commanded that we not kill him, because she wanted him alive so she could personality asked him who he was working for and what their motives were." Filia stated energetically._

"_In a nutshell." Sal stated._

_Filia looked out at the ocean, where the sky had to began to change for the new day, getting ready for the sun to rise. Filia grinned as her memories were beginning to rush in to her brain at a fast pace._

"_So our mission was to speak to the temples to find information on the sorcerer who trapped the Mazoku in a golem shell, Find information on the Mazoku Domink, and along the way, cause Kurokei to expose his duplicity." _

"_That's it. But we seemed to blunder our mission when we rescued the prisoners at Kataart." Sal pointed out. "Kurokei revealed his true intentions sooner than we expected, and escaped us."_

_Filia thought about Salvia's words for a moment then shook her head. _

"_He had told me something, before he poisoned me, something about what he was planning, but I can't remember." She said sadly._

"_Don't try and force it out, it will only bury it's self deeper." Sal suggested. "In the mean time we should focus on our other mission's, and if we cross paths with Kurokei again, we will use all the power we have to capture him." Sal stated._

_Filia bit her thumb trying to listen to the Mazoku's words, but deep inside she felt it was something really important for her to remember._

"_And you were wrong about one thing," Sal said to Filia looking at her from a side glace. "The reason Lord Zelas is keeping Xelloss uninformed about Kurokei, was not because he would have over stepped Lord Beastmaster's authority, which he wouldn't" She added clearly, "It is because she wants to see how you would do on a mission without the help of Xelloss, in other words, to see if you could handle yourself without him saving you." _

_Her words, hit Filia hard, like a sudden blast of cold wind. Zelas was testing Filia, not only on how she negotiated with the Dragon race, but on her ability's to fulfill her mission without his assistance. She had been training with Zelas for many years now, Filia began to remember, but Zelas had never used her for anything other than creating-_

_Odilia._

_Her eyes began to well with tears. Her daughter, she had a daughter. Little Odile and brave Val. Filia smiled painfully as she hated herself for forgetting her babies. Zelas had protected them all. When Filia and Val were on the run from the dragon race years ago, it was Zelas who took them under her wing and gave them a safe home. _

"_Filia?" Salvia asked the gold as she felt her emotions go haywire once more. Filia looked up at her and wiped her tears away smiling sheepishly at her. "Sorry just remembered something I should have never forgotten."_

_Sal looked at her cautiously but said nothing. Filia looked out at the glow around the ocean as the sun drew closer to rising about the waters of the demon sea. Zelas was trusting Filia with this mission, and she was going to use all her power to accomplish it, for her, and for the ones she loved waiting on her to return._

"_It won't be long now." Sal said moments later, as she straightened her back looking up toward the sky. "I can feel him coming closer."_

_Filia silently felt a sort of excited edge to Salvia as the monster watched the sky for the descending Dragon, perhaps she was as restive as Filia was about waiting. _

"Yo Gourry, your Jellyfish head is blocking my view!" Lina scowled as Gourry turned his head to face Lina, with his ramen lunch hanging from his mouth. "Wot Arr Uw takin bou Wena? Uw Arr On duh Ouch!" He replied back to her curiously.

"Gourry, I don't speak noodle." She sighed, shaking her head wryly as she began eating her third bowl of noodles.

Gourry slurped his noodles down quickly then replied, "I said 'What are you talking about Lina, You are on the couch'." He said from the floor.

"Well, I can't help that you're taller than me even when you are sitting." She said pointing at him with her fork.

"What are you talking about 'Wena'-" Xelloss grinned at the sorcerers, as he smiled happily, as he enjoyed his mint flavored drumstick.

"Don't start Xelloss." Lina said staring the monster down, "It will end with a Dragon Slave."

"It's been a while since we have seen one of those." Zelgadis said off handed as he snacked on futuristic food called 'French Fries'.

"Your right Mister Zelgadis," Amelia said after she swallowed a mouthful of ham sandwich. "Miss Lina has been doing so well going such a long stretch without blowing anything up. This could be a form of magical rehabilitation."

Gourry looked at the princess in fear. "Are you saying Lina is going to lose her powers? Does that mean it's that time of the mo-"

Gourry suddenly went sailing through the room as he landed against the enchanted walls of the cabin Nexus created, after Lina sent him flying with a spell, as her face glowed in hot red anger.

"What did I TELL YOU about talking about that?" she should loudly as she snapped her glare at Xelloss, "And quite smiling at me like that!" she shouted hysterically.

Filia looked at Gourry in awe, clearly unaware the swordsman knew such an intimate thing as, well, you know.

"Mister Gourry," Amelia said in horror, "How could you possibly know about-"

"Amelia don't." Zelgadis stopped her shaking his head at her.

"It would be better not knowing." Filia said looking stressed out.

"Oh Filia, you're such a killjoy!" Xelloss whined.

Filia turned her head from the monster deciding to not fall in to his traps.

"Perhaps we should continue, to keep from further distractions." Nexus asked relentlessly. "We have quite a bit of material to go through still, and I hoped we could finish it before this evening." The voice said with doubt in his voice.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what's the rush?" Amelia asked the book curious.

"I have no need to rush anything." Nexus replied hotly, "I would just like to reach the end of our journey, and with all these frivolous distractions are causing us to get behind." The book said.

"Wow, you have a lot of pent up anger don't you Nex?" Lina pointed out to the book.

"No where close to yours my dear." He said back crisply.

"Hey!" Lina roared down at the book angrily.

"Lina calm down!" Zelgadis said fearfully to the explosive redhead.

"Nexus, that was rather rude." Filia stated to the enchanted book.

"My apologies." The book said humbly.

Nobody noticed the dark look Xelloss gave the book as they began to dispose of what was left, or not left of their lunches. After they all finished, they all began to reposition themselves in the room. It seemed that the constant viewing had caused everyone to be slightly anxious and everyone needed to get around and move. An after a quick stretch, they began to feel better relaxed. Xelloss watched curiously as Filia willingly took her place beside him which surprised him slightly.

"Xelloss," She whispered to him, locking her eyes on to his face, then tapped her head. Perhaps she wanted to talk to him mentally? This was unusual for Xelloss, for he had never made a mental link with the dragon, or any dragon for that matter, but curiosity won over his pride and willingly made the connection.

_What is it Filia?_

_Something is not right with Nexus._ She said worriedly in his mind.

_You don't say? Why Filia, it is normal for a 'master' to find their servents inadequate._

_Stop it Xelloss, I know you noticed it to, what if I have endangered everyone here? What if he has set up some kind of trap for all of us and we are just sitting here, in his room, eating his food, watching these enchanted images?_

_You mean you just thought of this?_ Xelloss asked her humorously.

_I'm serious._

_Filia, think about it, this room is created by magic, if we were in danger we would be able to since it right away, and just because we can't teleport doesn't mean we don't have other ways of dealing with his magic._

_Like what? The Giga slave?_

_Filia, Filia, you don't need to be so extreme, there are simpler things we could resort to if anything happens while we are here, just because you just started to us your brain about this situation doesn't mean that others have not already done so._

Filia glared at him as he insulted her, and quickly turned her head from him, letting him know she was done talking to him. She had hoped to talk to him where Nexus couldn't hear her, but like always he had to find some way to take any chance of them having a civil discussion and shove it right out the window.

Serves her right trying to reason with a monster, she thought bitterly, then looked down at the book, and sighed. Now she was insulting herself, _Great._ What could have possibly gone through her brain when she decided to bind herself to a monster? She had fallen for his tricks, without hardly any resistance. With Xelloss she expects the deceptions, and stretched lies. The only other monsters she had ever had to deal with was Valgaav, and she had a slightly bias opinion of that experience. So why, did the second monster she mean, just waltz in to her life unexpectedly and she just went, _sure, why not? I have no reason to not trust an enchanted Mazoku book claiming it had been sent from LoN herself to be in MY insignificant care. It seems a little fishy, but hey, why not?_

Filia stared at the enchanted screen as she watched herself bumble around with Salvia thinking that she was also a fool. If she knew that Kurokei was a traitor, why lower her guard? Was she to always be a pawn in the monster races endless game of chaos? Was she such a pathetic, defenseless person that she would need someone like, Ugh, Xelloss, to watch over her?

Filia gritted her teeth as she glared at the screen. _No,_ she told herself,_ this could be my fate, but I refuse to let myself to play in the twisted schemes of those around me. What kind of mother would I be, if I wasn't a strong independent woman that Val can look up to? I refuse to be like that. I had a moment of weakness, now I have to keep a clear head, and if something comes my way, I will think it out, and talk the problem out effectively and efficiently. _She nodded to herself as she began to really focus on what was going on the screen.

_The sun was finally began to rise above the surface of the sea, and brought a warm glow over the beach. Filia sat with Salvia as the patiently waited for Daemon to return, and after a few more moments of edgy silence, a large black dragon appeared out of the clouds._

_He swooped down toward them, and transformed right before he reached the sand and advanced to them, looking unhinged. He quickly noticed Filia and looked relieved to see she was unharmed, as he walked up to her and quickly patted her head. "Good to see you return to the mission."_

_Filia looked up at him awkwardly and smiled at him. "Th-Thanks."_

"_How was it?" Salvia asked him, sounding rather anxious for her. Daemon looked down at the tiny girl and shook his head._

"_He wasn't pleased to talk to me, since it has been so long, but I finally got him to talk to me and ask what I need to." He began. "There were no dragons with Valwin like we predicted, and he could not help with the information on Rufus, however," Daemon paused, " I did get a bit of useful information from that old wind bag about Domink, Apparently, there has been a couple of dragons joining Domink's ranks, that it was rumored, that he was after a particular dragon, but Valwin couldn't tell me who." Daemon reported._

"_Do you think it could be Filia?" Salvia asked._

"_It could be a possibility, I brought that to Valwin, and he just sneered at me, and I couldn't get more out of him on THAT subject." He said._

"_So then, should we report to Zelas?" Sal asked him._

"_Yes, there are a few things I needed to talk to her about anyway, a few things Valwin said to me has caused me to feel suspicious." Daemon said looking out at the glowing red sunrise as Filia's eyes followed his glance. _

_Return to Wolfpack Island? That is where I Live, Filia thought to herself, still trying to remember everything._

_Perhaps I could see Odile._

Author's Note: I have hit a suddenly ruff patch in my writings and in the words of the musical 'Title Of Show', "Die Vampire Die!" But hopefully my little writers block is over with and I will be updating a lot next week cuz I have four, glorious day's off work and I'm uber excited. Once again, I would like to thank anyone who has taken their time to read this and I promise to try EXTRA hard to find all the grammar and spelling errors. SPELL CHECK CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH, an after proof reading twice, I just want to throw it out there lol. And to everyone who has left my comments, thank you so much, it is really awesome to know people are enjoying! Hopefully I will update before Halloween, but I'm not making any guaranties, I'm a busy girl, sob.


	18. Reunions? And The Marker Of Punishment!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I was a Panda!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 18 – Reunions? And The Marker of Punishment? **

_The trip to Wolfpack island was quick, and when they arrived by the front gates of the Beastmaster's domain, Filia felt a rush of familiarity, and home. The group walked up to the gate keeper, who was rather tall and gruff looking, and needless to say, Mazoku._

"_Been keeping tabs on things in my absence Zohr?" Salvia asked the gatekeeper in an undermining tone, without grinning at the big monster._

"_No one has tried to attack yet." He replied unaffected. He looked past Daemon and Salvia and rested his eyes on Filia briefly before saying, "I've heard you took a nasty spell," He said to her in his deep man voice, "Look's like you're all healed up then?" _

_Filia replied to the man she did not recall, trying to sound as legitimate as she could muster. "Physically perfect." _

_The taller man just grunted and granted them access to the castle. They walked in as Filia's mind began to fill with memories of the place and felt like all the pieces in her mind were springing together for her. _

"_Why didn't we just phase in to Lord Zelas room?" Filia asked the dragon as they walked side by side as they continued through the estate to Lord Zelas chambers._

"_When we spoke with Lord Beastmaster previously, she mentioned something about meeting with Lord Dolphin," Daemon explained to her, not breaking his long strides, "Lord Zelas gets rather cross when someone interrupts her during such meetings."_

_Filia saw some truth to this statement in a hazy memory she had previously, and decided for the time to remain silent. She wanted to find a way to meet with Odilia, and to do so she tried to present herself in her outmost best behavior._

_When they reached Lord Zelas quarters, the plum velvet curtain was pulled across the door, as the guard looked at them from his post. _

"_She is currently speaking with Lord Deep Sea Dolphin." He said in a bored voice, close to what Sal sometimes spoke in._

"_Well then, when she becomes available, could you tell her that Daemon, Salvia, and Filia wish an audience with her?" Daemon asked the guard with a calm tone._

"_Yep, I will let her know." The guard replied simply, as the group dismissed themselves for the area._

_Filia looked at Salvia and Daemon as they walked from the door with a small hope fluttering in her chest, this would be the perfect time for her to escape and see Odilia, before they met with Zelas and then were sent out again. She watched as the two walked calmly wondering for her opening to dismiss herself from them._

"_What should we do while we wait?" Salvia asked Daemon as they stopped at the end of the hallway, in a tone that Filia was not familiar with. The tiny monster looked up at Daemon with expectant eyes as if she knew exactly what she wanted to do, even though Filia didn't have the slightest clue what that could have been._

"_I think for the time we should stick together, and wait for Lord Zelas to be released from her meeting with Lord Dolphin." Daemon said to her of handedly._

_Salvia looked at him for a moment as something flickered across her expression that Filia could not read, and pushed her lip out to say something back to the dragon, but pulled back before the sound could be released from her lips. Filia watched her, hoping that the Mazoku would push for the separation of the group, but none came forth from the girls lips._

_Sighing Filia looked around the crowed lobby they were near hoping to just catch a glance of her daughter, before a small flare bursted deep inside her. If she wanted to see her daughter, she damn well had the right to see her. If Zelas was meeting with somebody, then why couldn't she spend her time with Odilia? _

_Filia turned to Daemon with new found determination and looked the taller Dragon in the eye as she said to him in her best forceful voice, "I am going to go see Odile while we are waiting."_

_Daemon looked down at her, his expression not changing as he said, "I don't think that is a good idea."_

_Why the nerve, Filia looked at him feeling offended, "Good idea or not, I am going."_

_Salvia looked between the to, looking interested in the dragons determination then looked at Daemon with absolute eyes, "Dae, while she does that, we could be taking care of a few things that we won't have the opportunity to take care of later." She said cryptically._

_Filia wasn't sure what Salvia was talking about, but at the time she only cared about her liberation from the group to see her baby and doing it without causing a big commotion about it. Daemon looked from Sal to Filia, and seemed to decide it wasn't arguing with both of them and replied, "Fine."_

_Filia swiftly took a step back about to jolt toward where she thought her daughter would be before Daemon caught her attention and said, "When I call for you, you better be there in less than two seconds."_

_She nodded her head at him quickly, and then set off to find Odile. If she could remember correctly, the girl's room was somewhere closer to the eastern side of the castle, which was rather close by. As she swiftly walked toward the girl's room she thought about Dae and Sal's strange behavior._

_The two seemed like it was no big deal that Daemon and her were shot through the stomach, and were almost dead. They were very mysterious in Filia's mind. They had been working for Zelas far longer then she had been alive, which Filia never really pondered about, but now that she had open the book for her thoughts to flow out she wondered why Daemon joined Zelas side in the first place?_

_And then there was Sal. Xelloss had told her before that had been on Zelas side since before he was created, and that the tiny girl never said much. They seemed to be pretty familiar with each other thought, Filia thought. Being around the same people for long periods of time tended to cause people to be draw to each other more, Filia reasoned, but with Salvia's standoffish attitude against Daemon's conscientiousness she didn't see what caused them to be on such friendly terms. They worked well together, that Filia recognized, but they seemed to have more amenity then that, something beyond working well together._

_Perhaps one owed the other a life debt, Filia pondered._

_Filia knew that she had went in the right direction, because as she drew closer to the room which was her destination, she heard a pure, joyful laugh ring through the hallway as she reached the door, as Filia smiled warmly, as she eagerly opened the door to the young girls room._

_When she looked inside the room, she stared in confusion and shock. In the large room, Haleron appeared to be completely wrapped up in what looked like silver chains, and was on his knee's as a joyful Odilia was running around him in a overly gaudy feathered headdress._

_The tiny dragon was running around the exhausted looking dragon, while bellowing a tone from her mouth, while she repeatedly patted her mouth with the palm of her hand causing it to create a whooping sound._

_Haleron seemed to notice Filia's presence first, as he let out a pleading, "Miss Filia!"_

_Odilia stopped suddenly at the name of her mother and quickly turned to face the door as her light purlple dress swayed with the movement. She stared at her mother for a moment, with her wide shard eyes, then ran quickly to her, as her head dress fell of her head in the rush._

"_Mommy!" _

_Filia gripped the tiny girl in her hands after she leaped in to her embrace, as she briefly forgot about the dragon that was tied up in the middle of the room. She felt like it had been years since she had seen the girl, and secretly hated herself for ever forgetting about her._

_Odilia moved from her mother, as she was held in her embraced and looked in to Filia's eyes looking very excited and angry, "Mom, Do you know how sad I've been since you, daddy and big brother all left me?" She asked looking hurt to her mother. Filia looked at her for a moment then held her close. "I'm sorry sweetie, How long has your brother been gone?" Filia asked her looking at her with concerned eyes._

"_Miss Zelas told him he would be leaving two days ago, and yesterday he was sent out to help father." Odile informed Filia looking displeased._

_Filia wondered what that was about, and felt an uncomfortable sensation wash over her as the weight of Odile's words feel on to her. Over the years Zelas had tried to keep the three of them, Val, Odile, and herself, under the care of the palace from the outside threats that hunted them outside of Wolfpack island. For Zelas to send Filia out, was a stretch past any boundaries she had ever set, then in the same week, also sending Val out, causing the three of them to be kept from home, and leaving Odilia with only Haleron._

_Filia placed the girl on the ground as she kneeled down looking at her. She was wearing a light violet dress that was over a puffy white blouse, with black shoes and white tights. Her golden hair was half up, and wrapped in a large black ribbon and war paint smeared across her cheeks._

_She looked so small and innocent, and Filia felt her heart breaking as she looked at her. Was this how Xelloss felt every time he left Filia when he left on a mission? Even if she was under the care of one of the strongest beings in existence, the thought of leaving her unprotected brought out such strong feelings of doubt, pain, and panic inside of Filia, she thought her emotion's would shoot out of her._

_Odilia looked at her mother with confused eyes, as she felt the wavering feelings of her mother fill her up. Filia noticed this right away and quickly changed her line of thought to remove the suspicions of the petite dragon._

"_Could you please untie me Miss Filia?" Haleron moaned from behind her causing her to turn her gaze to the miserable looking dragon, who was chained up to the floor. Odilia whipped her head around and pointed her finger at him with the look of authority._

"_Silence prisoner! You do not have the privilege to address the Great Chief!" She shouted in character as Filia wondered where she had got if from._

"_Lady Odile, I am your humble servant, why have you done this to me? Please untie me." He begged the girl. Odile narrowed her eyes at him, as she looked down on him._

"_Your punishment has only begun my little sinner." She said darkly, not breaking character as she walked over to one on her desk, searching for something._

_Filia paled as she watched the tiny girl, and felt a small shiver run up her spine. Odile seemed to inherit her father's love for theatrics, and poor Haleron seemed to have become her main victim._

_Odile walked over to Haleron with a marker and made swift work with it. When she stepped back from him to admire her work, Filia decided that pink wasn't his color, which Odile swirled on his cheeks._

"_Oldie please!" Haleron said in a sobbing voice._

"_Punishment!" Odile thundered down on him, as she uncapped a green marker._

"Oh my, she is a little devil!" Xelloss chuckled as he watched the screen in elation. "But I would have gone with the red marker, it stains the worst."

Filia looked at Xelloss in fear, wondering who would even consider that. He was truly rotten to the core, she flinched as she stared at the smiling priest. He seemed to be enjoying it now, but how long till he becomes serious again? His moods were that of a child, if you keep him interested he is happy as pie and candy, but if he decides he is bored or no longer takes interest in what is before him, he will become sour and ruin it for everybody else.

Deciding not to dwell on it, and not wanting to stare at him any longer she switched her gaze to the three on the floor and sighed. It was the afternoon, and since all they have done was sit around and watch the show on the magical screen, she shouldn't have been surprised, but when she looked down at the outlines of Lina, Gourry, and Amelia's snoozing forms, she felt like her human companions had once again thrown a jab at her expectancy's of a humans attention span.

At least Mister Zelgadis had enough decency to stay awake, Filia nodded to herself as she turned to look at the chimera in annoyance, to see him sitting with his arms crossed looking down, as soft snores escaped out of his mouth.

Damnit!

Filia looked over again to see Xelloss was still smiling all big and crazy, as she realized they were the only ones awake. Oh she didn't like that one bit, that she did not.

Xelloss turned to her, cracking his violet eye at her, lips parted into a wicked grin as chuckled, "Oh dear, you seem to be panicking, are you that nervous to be enjoying this private viewing, alone, with me?"

Filia snorted angrily, turning her head from him with the snap of her neck. "As if I would degrade myself to being nervous over an egotistical wacko like you."

"Oh?" He asked annoyed.

Filia bit her tongue as she glared down at the zoned out party, with distain. _How dare they fall asleep and leave me with this creep? _She thought angrily as she tried to focus back on the screen as Odile was now washing Haleron's marker stained face with a wet towel.

"_Haleron, you're such a good sport!" Odile giggled as she cleaned the dragons face off gently. "It's always fun to play after we get done with lessons."_

_Filia watched apprehensively thinking that they probably spent more time fooling around then actually studying. But as she looked at the pair she couldn't help thinking that Haleron was the best person to be watching over her. The dragon had a power of patients with the tiny dragon that never seemed to run out. He was strong as well, though Filia never seen him be needed in combat. But if the need arrived, she felt that he wouldn't hesitate to protect her, and in Filia's eyes, made him a liability that she would never take for granted._

"_Thank your princess." Haleron replied to her, as her war painted cheeks reddened. "Haleron, you don't need to call me that anymore silly." She said as she finished wiping the marker off his face. _

"_If that is true, then could you unchain me?" He asked hopefully._

"_Nope." She replied, then turned and began humming as she went to ring the towel out. Filia looked down at him and smiled. "Things going well then?"_

"_Yeah, she is a good kid, a little wired, but good." He said to her politly._

"_How did that test go the other day?" Filia asked remembering the events from before._

"_She didn't pass." He said grinning._

"_That slightly surprises me." Filia said sadly, "She usually does really well, especially when there is something on the line for her."_

_Haleron shook his head at her then winked at her. "She got every question right except the last one."_

"_Oh so she did do well, was the last question hard?" Filia asked._

"_You can look at it if you like, it's pinned to the board over there." He said as he shifted his gaze to the corner of the room. Filia walked over the test in question and skimmed down the questions, then rested on the last one._

_125. What Color Dragon Is Haleron?_

_Filia laughed out loud, and lightly hit him in the back. "You're a sneaky little cheat."_

_He grinned up to her as he chuckled. "She was pretty upset too, so much she didn't even put answer down."_

_Filia grinned at him and sat down on a chair facing him as she crossed her legs. "Now I see why she is 'punishing' you." She shook her head at him, and with a little zeal she learned from being with Xelloss for such a long time, turned her cold gaze down on him as Odile walked back in to the room._

"_Lady Odile," She said in a low crisp voice without looking at her, "Why have you brought this prisoner to my feet?"_

_Odile looked at her confused for a second then her smiled brightened as she played along with her mother, as she knelled to her mother. "Great Chief, this sinner has been brought to you for supreme punishment for the crimes he has committed against the royal family." She bowed deeply._

_Filia slowly turned her gaze on to Odile looking her cool blue gaze on to her bright plum one. "What form of punishment did you have in mind?"_

"_The scum brought dishonor and shame on to the royal princess; we should do the same to him tenfold. Perhaps a public lynching in a chicken suit should be our course of action. Or we could have him dress as a clown and have the tribe members each punch in the gut." She said in a commanding voice._

_Filia's sweat dropped, what an imagination she had. _

_The door Filia had come through earlier was opened, as Filia turned her gaze at the large man who entered the room._

"_Zohr?" Filia asked curiously at the large gate keeper who stood in the doorway. "What are you doing here, who is watching the gates?"_

"_You know, you being here really changed my plans." The large gruff man said talking down to her as she sat there with her legs crossed. "You seemed to be doing that to me a lot."_

_Filia looked up at the man trying desperately to remember who he was, but was coming up with a blank. Odile slowly moved to stand beside Haleron, who was looking up at Zohr with suspicious eyes._

"_You know, trust stray dragons to complicate a foolproof plan, and wreck all the effort of planning." The big man complained as he shut the door behind him._

"_What are you talking about?" Filia asked as a cold chill climbed down her back._

"_But since While Dolphin is here to keep Zelas,-"_

"_Lord Zelas!" Odilia shouted at the large man from beside Haleron, causing the tall man to turn a dark gaze down on her._

_Filia stiffened, as she looked at the menacing gaze Zohr was giving Odile and her eyes widened as she made eye contact with Haleron quickly. _

_Something was wrong._

_Haleron stood up quickly, the chains around him falling to his feet, as he stepped closer to Odile as he put his arm on her shoulder._

"_While she is occupied, this is the only chance we have to take her." Zohr finished while glaring down at Odile._

_Filia sat up from her chair defensively, her blood boiling as she spit, "Over my dead body."_

_There was a tenor laugh that filled the silence of the room, as Kurokei appeared behind Filia, as he grabbed her wrist and held them behind her back, "Oh Please, don't get so dramatic on us, your death is not the desired outcome as of now." He whispered loudly in to her ear as his breath tickled her neck._

"_Mom!" Odile shouted as she immediately tried to running to her mom, as Haleron tightened his grip on the fabric of her sleeve keeping her in place._

_Gieza and Miriam appeared around Haleron and Odilia, as they held their weapons out at them keeping them in place._

"_Miriam?" Haleron said surprised looking down at the smaller dragon._

"_Hello, cousin." She said to him bitterly._

"_Gieza?" Filia asked in horror looking over the gold dragon._

_Gieza gave Filia a dark look without replying back to her. _

"_Well then this is the time is it not?" Zohr grinned to the two rouge Dragons._


	19. Backed Into A Corner? Take To The Skies!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. But I did just buy a copy of CATS DON'T DANCE, ah I feel all nostalgic!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 19 – Backed In To A Corner? Take To The Skies?**

_Filia struggled as Kurokei held her arms behind her back. His hold wouldn't loosen as she tried to twist out of his clutches. Panic filled her as she looked over to her daughter and Haleron, as they were backed in to the corner of the room by Gieza and Miriam._

_Zohr walked closer to the pair with a wild gleam in his eyes. Filia could not remember him from her past, and was beginning to think that she had never met him before. Odile didn't back up as the large man approached her and Haleron, instead the tiny girl gave the most ominous gaze Filia ever seen on her face. _

_Zohr and Haleron faced each other when Zohr reached the pair, and Haleron's eyes stared at Zohr with a calculated look, while he didn't free his grip from Odile. Zohr gave him a quick look over then clicked his tongue._

"_You really don't want to put yourself in between me and her, if you want to live through this day."_

_Haleron snorted up at the larger man and replied with a glint of humor in his eye, "I feel pretty comfortable where I am right now thanks."_

_The air felt like it had electric currents pulsing through it as everyone watched in silence, waiting for what was going to happen next. Gieza and Miriam looked fearful as the kept watching the door as if they were waiting for someone to burst through it._

"_Hey, If we're going to do this, should we hurry before more come?" Gieza said to the tall man._

"_Yes, this is our only chance after all." Zohr said as he took the last step toward the two._

"_Who are you?" Filia blurted out, to the tall man who turned to set his gaze on her. His smile widened, as his form changed to a black void then reshaped as a young man with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, and said, "I call myself Elias, or at least I have been for the last three hundred years, but most know me as, Domink, but I rather dislike that title, so don't call me that." He said to her._

_Filia's stiffened as she gazed at the younger looking boy in shock. No longer towering over Haleron, he didn't look as menacing as before, but now that she knew the truth he FELT even more terrifying than ever. The monster that stood before her was responsible for starting the War of Severance, and killing so many of the dragons. That same man was also the cause of the humans being captured and placed in to monster ranches like the one Gerald and Leila were in, and he was also the object of the Mazoku lord's searches. Transfixed on the figure in front of her, Filia shook in fear. He was right her, right now, and he was after Odile. This man was the cause of Val and herself being hunted so many years ago before she lived with Xelloss and Zelas. He had been the reason her life got flipped upside down and now, he was after the best thing that came from her life with the monsters. _

_Shaking, Filia said nothing to reply to him, causing him to grin as he felt her fear pour out of her. He turned his back on Haleron and Odile momentarily and strode over to her, as he grabbed her chin tilting it to look at her. He continued to grin as he watched her unfocused eyes stare at him in terror._

"_When you look at me, with the fearful, big blue eyes, you leave me breathless." He teased her, as she stood unmoved by her fear._

"_I've hunted you for so many years you know," He whispered to her, as Kurokei held her in her place. "Yes, one of the last Gold dragons, it was more for my collection at the time, you see. I wanted to eradicate all the Golds first, that was when I was younger and not as bright. Back then I didn't realize what a liability dragons could serve if they were obedient. And when I found that you were snatched up by the monsters and protected, it caused me to want to hunt you even more. Unfortunately, you were kept on a very short chain." He sighed sadly, as he shook his head at her._

"_And then, from Kurokei, who was the most excellent spy, found that you and a monster successfully created a monster-dragon offspring, and I knew as soon as I heard, that I was going to find the little thing and raise it to be on my side." He grinned wickedly to her, causing Filia's eyes to focus for a moment. _

"_And now, I have my moment, since everyone is separated, and your precious master is preoccupied, I can finally exact my plan." He said in a dark tone, as his brown eyes bore into hers. Kurokei's hold on her wrist tightened._

"_What happened to Zohr?" Haleron said to him, causing him to turn from Filia. _

"_Oh him, I killed him two days ago." Elias said grinning murderously. "How else could I ensure my entrance then to plant a couple of my monsters and myself among the staff? We easily fooled everyone it seems." He laughed, as he released Filia's chin and advanced on Haleron once more._

"_Now, it's about time we end this little play, we're on a time limit and I need to really get going." He said as he nodded to the dragons. Miriam sprang toward Haleron while she placed her hands to her side with a spell swirling awaiting to be released._

_Haleron grabbed Odile, and quickly threw Odile on his back, as his eyes narrowed at the tiny girl who stood in front of him._

"_Hal, you really shouldn't have left seven years ago, you betrayed your people." The girl said to him in a quiet voice, as her dark magenta eyes looked over him quickly. "Nobody had the will to fight after you left."_

"_Miriam, I don't know what has caused you to ally yourself to this monster, but know this," He said in a loud voice to make sure she understood perfectly, "I will kill, to protect her." _

_Miriam looked at him fearfully as his words sunk in. _

"_This looks a little uneven don't you think?" Salvia said as she and Daemon phased in to the room._

"_Of course Salvia my dear," Elias said wryly to the short monster, "At least now I can take you out since my plans were foiled from before." He grinned._

"_Oh you won't be fighting me." She said as her stone eyes narrowed._

"_Oh how unfortunate." Elias lamented._

_Gieza faced Salvia as the monster unwove her crossed arms as she faced the dragon, while Daemon stepped up to Elias._

"_I suppose your master has been informed of my trespassing?" Elias said calmly to the towering dragon._

"_She knew you were already here." He replied without any humor. "Don't underestimate her; she was just waiting to see what your motives were."_

"_Oh how undramatic, so then am I to guess she already knew of Kurokei's treason?"_

"_You're catching on." _

_Elias laughed gleefully at the remark before turning his condescending gaze on the black dragon. "Now it's time for me to reveal some of your secrets, for example, I know what you have going on with the Beastmaster." He grinned evilly at him._

_Daemon was unnerved as he watched the monster waiting for his advance. "Do you now?"_

_Elias laughed again as he looked at him, "But of course, I had always had my suspicions, since before I became Domink, I was known as another Mazoku. You see, and I have previously worked for all of the five children of Ruby eyes at one point or another, so many years ago I had met you before, and now when I saw you again I noticed that you have lived far over the life span that your inferior race graced you with in your birth. You did a good job keeping yourself hidden for all the years you served Zelas, but back then, I took a special notice of you, because well, when I was younger, there was nothing I despised more than a filthy dragon that was breathing."_

"_Since you know the truth, what makes you think you can take me in a fight?" Daemon asked him as he lowered himself in a defensive pose._

_Elias gleamed as he looked up at him, and replied while also pulling into his own stance, "Because, unlike you, I know what I am capable of." _

_Filia watched in horror as the three sets prepared for battle, and felt Kurokei's grip on her wrist loosen as she slid from his grasp, then turned to him. His face was stoic as he removed his glasses from his face and placed them in his satchel, and turned his cool blue gaze on her._

"_It seems Filly, that we are the last pair to get in position." He said down to her in a calm voice, throwing Filia slightly off guard by his change of character. She took a few steps backwards, as the heel of her grey boots softly clicked._

"_I won't let anybody take my daughter," She said simply as she pulled her mace from under the light green hem of her dress, and pointed it at him, "As long as I am breathing."_

_Kurokei glanced at her for a moment as if deciding what course of action he wanted to take. The silence caused Filia's confident gaze to fall, as she looked at him while he stared at her. His short dark blue spikes fell around his face as his mouth formed a small frown, and his eyes, stayed locked on to hers._

"_W-what?" She asked him uncomfortable by the silence. Her voice caused his attention to readjust as he turned his gaze to her mace. _

"_Filly, you know that stick of yours won't do any damage to a monster." He sighed as he shook his head at her, "And you need to accept that Elias is going to be acquiring your daughter today," he said in an almost gentle tone. "Be relieved he doesn't want to harm her, and try not to get in his way or I will not be able to prevent your death."_

_Filia stared at him in shock. His words didn't make an ounce of sense to her. But she would not let the monster take her baby. Her life didn't matter at the moment, as she couched in a defensive stance. _

"_Haleron, leave now, take Odile and leave!" She shouted to the Dragon across the room._

_Haleron looked up at Filia astonished, and then looked back down at Miriam. "If you want to live, don't follow me." He said, then looked back to Odile, "Oldie, hold on tight." He whispered, as his body began to glow in a yellow light, as he lifted above the ground and transformed as he broke through the wall of the palace._

_Elias dodged a spell from Daemon as his gaze turned to the rising dragon who was now taking off with his hybrid. He growled as he evaded another spell from the dragon._

"_Miriam, Gieza, follow them!" He commanded, causing the two to transform. Gieza's quickly took to the skies followed by Miriam's dark red figure, as the Gold and Dimos dragons followed in hot pursuit of the escaping dragon._

"_Haleron!" Odile shouted holding tightly to the flaming red mane of the dragons neck, "You're beautiful." She said in awe as she stroked his bright silver scales. _

"_Thank you Oldie," He said in a firm tone, as he turned to face the two approaching dragons. He was triple the size of Miriam, as she flapped her dark red wings toward him, but was smaller than Gieza. But his body was more slender then the both of them which meant he would have greater speed. _

"_Careful Gieza, he is half gold just like I am." Miriam warned._

"_You are?" Odile asked him shocked as she clutched him tightly._

_Shaking his head, Odile knew that was her cue for her to remain silent, so she just hugged his neck, and buried her face in his mane not looking out to watch the battle._

"_It seems our little charade is now moving to a more outer venue." Elias said to Daemon and Salvia, as he began to levitate toward the dragons, followed quickly by the two of them._

_Filia remained in the room staring at Kurokei awaiting his next move. She couldn't follow them until she transformed, and she couldn't risk being attacked while she transformed. Her gaze never left Kurokei as she desperately wanted to see what was going on above._

"_Are you going to attack?" She shouted at him waiting for him to, well, do something._

_He continued to look at her and then sighed and shook his head. "Not unless you do."_

_Filia stared at him confused and clutched her fist. "What does that mean?"_

_He took a step toward her, which in return she stepped back. His strange behavior was scaring her, as he backed her up against a wall. He looked down at her, before talking a stray strand of her golden hair in his gloved hand, causing her to freeze up._

"_You know, after I attacked Xelloss, I was commanded to remain watching him until we took Odile, and he never took the initiative to find you." He whispered to her as he examined her hair calmly._

"_His 'master' commanded him to remain in Zoana, along with your son to await the arrival of the King and Queen, and to see if my companions and I would return. He was then more concerned in finding the red heads we captured after we attacked him, then returning to you."_

_Filia stared at him cautiously as he continued to twist her hair between his fingers. "Lord Zelas knew I was safe with Salvia and Daemon, so he did as well, besides I spoke to him mentally when he recovered." She defended quietly._

"_Hmm." He replied, as she slowly let the hair slid from his fingers out of his grasp, then turned his gaze on to her._

"_It must be an empty feeling to know that he will always chose Lord Zelas over you, isn't it. Perhaps one day, under her orders, he won't be able to save you, how do you think I would be able to live with himself knowing that he could have prevented your death if it wasn't for lord Zelas, and at the same time not be able to hate her for her for it?"_ He said then slowly slid his gloved hand across her cheek, before placing it against her neck.

"_I understand his loyalties will always be reserved for her first." She said unaffected by his touch as she raised her arm moved his away from her. _

"_Nobody could understand what Xelloss and I share. It may seem like it is empty, but I never expect anything for from him, I know that Lord Zelas will always come first. I knew that from the very beginning." She stated as she looked up at him boldly._

"_If I was in a situation where I could not defend myself, I would feel more ashamed that he would have to live on remembering how weak I was, and not be rueful to the bonds that tie him to his master."_

_Kurokei looked at her looking slightly sad then brushed her hair off her bare shoulder. "He doesn't deserve you."_

"_What does that even mean?" She said hotly, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "A monster shouldn't even be able to love, but we make it work, in a twisted way it must be LoN gracing us for all the chaos that enters our lives because of our singular situation."_

"_How can you even stand him, he has to be the most annoying Monster I have ever met, how could you ever find that weirdo attractive?"_

"_Oh, he is." Filia replied looking up at him with an unfailing expression. "He is the most childish, misleading, pain in the ass I have ever met." She blazed as she grinned to him. "Lower then raw garbage."_

_Kurokei watched her glow as she said these things, and felt her emotions wave over him. But they didn't match what she was saying; they were feelings of pride, and love. _

"_Why would you want to be with someone like that then?" He asked her not understanding her logic._

"_Isn't that obvious?" She asked him, grinning wildly, and then repeated one of her lover's favorite quotes, "It's more interesting that way!" _

"Oh my goodness, it seems I was an influence on you!" Xelloss giggled to Filia, as she hid her face in the pillow. He smiled as he felt her embarrassment flow over him. "To bad nobody was awake to witness it."

Filia didn't feel sad by that in the slightest. She glanced up at the screen as she defended her relationship with Xelloss to the monster.

"Kurokei is acting a lot different than he was before." Filia said off handed.

"Hmm." Xelloss replied dully.

"Xelloss, did you figure out what Daemon's secret is?" She whispered not to wake anyone as she peered at him from under her pillow.

"Oh that, yeah I figured that out yesterday when we first began to watch him." He told her.

"What is it?" She asked, as her voice muffled by the pillow as she refused to raise her red face from the safety of the pillow barricade.

"Hmm, that's, a se-"

His voice got muffled as she stretched her arms out covering his face with her pillow, her face still red. Sighing after a few seconds she felt she regained some composure and removed the fluffy pillow from him.

He looked at her curiously for a moment they looked back at the screen, even though he felt her gaze flicker from him to the screen for a few moments, and after the eight time she did it he turned back to her and gave her an, _I'm I going to be forced to ask you what's wrong_ look.

She froze when he looked at her, and then peeped back behind the pillow.

They kept quiet for a few more moments till she looked at him expectantly, causing him to turn to look at her once more.

"Do you think that LoN would enjoy the chaos that our union could create?" She said him in a shy voice still hiding behind the pillow. Xelloss looked at her in shock for a moment, then thought of what she said.

"No one could 'think' of what the great LoN would enjoy, or vice versa," He pointed out to her after a moment of thought, taking her comment seriously, "But for something so unimaginable as the thought of a monster and dragon to be in a relationship, it would almost need the LoN's blessing to even be in existence."

Filia nodded her head as she listened to him, satisfied with his answer then turned to the screen again.

After a few more moments Xelloss turned to her, and looked her over. She turned to look at him curiously wonder what was the matter.

"What?"

He looked at her silently for a moment; his expression guarded. Then after a quiet moment he smiled at her.

"I really want some tea."

Filia stared at him for a second, and then looked down at Nexus, "Nexus do you care?" She asked politely.

"Not at all mistress, would you like a snack to go with it as well?" He asked her.

"Sure."

Filia and Xelloss shared the tea, and the blueberry tart that nexus supplied them as they paused the screen for the moment. They would wake their companions up after they had finished their snack in peace, and then they'd continue on with the show.


	20. Are You Lookin For A Fight?

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. But I got Slayers Revolution coming in the mail. AHHHHH!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_**Silvia**_- Ohh you'll find out in this chapter! And thanks for your reviews! They make me super duper happy!

Ok, now on with chapter 20! P.S. I had a lot of difficulty writing this one, action scenes aren't my forte, which is why the delay in updates.

Sorrwy!

**Chapter 20 – Are You Lookin For A Fight? **

Every one stared at the Princess in fear, no not fear, pure terror. Her blue eyes blazing as she gave the darkest, most threatening look that could ever be seen on the optimistic girls face.

"A-Amelia, It's not that big a dea-" Lina tried to say, till she was silenced when the cold blue gaze shot her through her and attacked her soul. Lina's face paled and let out a Gah!

The object of Amelia's dark glares sat stationary on the table facing the magical screen.

"Un-" She uttered while she was shaking in rage, trying to speak, "Un-"

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the little girl to erupt. Lina backed up from the girl, not because she didn't think she could handle herself, but well, when Amelia was this angry, she didn't want to be caught in the aftershock. Gourry just stared at her confused, while Zelgadis had his arms crossed in irritation.

Filia looked over the girl with concern, while Xelloss grinned happily at her, enjoying mood.

"Amelia, you should try and see it from our point of view," Filia tried to reason with her. "We have already wasted so much time on this pointless fight, and if we do what you want, we would be wasting even more time. We already told you all you needed to know." She pointed out fairly.

"But she did miss some good material," Xelloss intervened, "Perhaps you're taking this personally, since you more or less confessed your deepest feelings."

Filia snapped her head at the monster with a look that screamed YOUR NOT HELPING!

This caused Amelia to finally snap, as she pointed her shaking finger first at Nexus then Filia.

"UNJUST! How can you stand there and ridicule me after you greedily watched Miss Filia defend her relationship with mister Xelloss to the villainous Kurokei!" She shouted in self righteousness. "How can you deny me what you have already watched without me?"

"Uh, you were sleeping, remember Amelia?" Filia replied coldly.

"An if that wasn't enough-" She continued ignoring Filia, "Now you refuse my humble request to go back so we can view the things we missed. How unjust!" She said sorely.

"Amelia, we don't have the time to go back and view what has already been seen. Filia and Xelloss have already told us all we missed, so why can't we just continue so we can get to the end of whatever this is?" Zelgadis pointed out to her.

"Mister Zelgadis, your facts are indeed valid," Amelia said supportively as she nodded her head, "But I still cannot over look missing Filia's speech of love!" She replied with stars and hearts in her eyes.

"Miss Amelia!" Filia shouted, slightly blushing, "It wasn't as much as you think it was!"

"Ah, but coming from a stubborn dragon like you, a little is consider a lot more than most standards." Xelloss imputed grinning eagerly, feeling both Amelia and Filia's rage.

They seemed to be getting nowhere and Nexus was beginning to lose his patience. "This endless squabbling is wasting us time, and there is still a large amount for you to see." Nexus spoke out "If it will get you to settle down, I will back track, but only little."

"Victory!" Amelia shouted happily as she quickly jumped over on to the couch as the screen flickered to life.

Filia, not wanting to witness her embarrassment a second time, took a few extra moments to return to her seat. They had all quickly seated themselves, and so when she walked out there the couch was full. Gourry, who was now sitting beside Lina, tried to rise to offer his seat to her, but she gently refused, and sat on the floor. She extended one leg, and rested her head on the other as she looked up at the screen above her.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to get on the floor." Xelloss said cheerfully, as he sat beside her. Filia looked away from him in disgust. After a moment Xelloss clicked his tongue at her.

"You know," he whispered as he leaned closer to her, invading her personal bubble, "I feel quite touched that you defended me, even if you still called me 'raw garbage' after supposedly being together for over six hundred years."

Filia turned to look at him side way's, expecting him to be making a joking face and say, _just kidding._ But he didn't, he just, smiled at her. Not his gross, fake smile. This smile looked genuinely pleased. It was a surprise to her, not use to witnessing such a natural smile on him, it took the annoying edge away from him and -

Bah, Filia thought, as she turned away from him. Not falling for your gags today Xelloss! First he doesn't believe the story, and then he has some comment about it like he does. Does he enjoy messing with her mind?

Yes.

Gosh, how could I keep in touch with my sanity after being with this wacko for centuries? She thought to herself in fear. Deciding to stop dwelling on Xelloss, she turned her gaze fiercely on the screen.

_Now who could foretell that defending her relationship with Xelloss, would give Filia the confidence to stand up to the monster that stood in front of her. He looked at her with hesitant eyes as she loosened her grip on her mace, and placed it back under her skirt._

"_Perhaps Mace-sama is to clean to touch you." She said simply as she swept her bangs from her face. "So, now we fight?"_

"_I will not attack, unless you try to come at me." Kurokei said to her simply._

_She Stared at him for a moment and replied, "So if I just walk right past you, you're not going to attack me?"_

"_I will follow you of course, but no, I will not advance on you, for now."_

_Filia seemed to believe him for the time being, and walked past him, and transformed to join the fray above._

_Haleron, swiftly avoided an advance by Gieza, while Odile held on to him tightly. Her icy gaze stared at Gieza, as they flew around, while Miriam glided around them, not attacking._

_Salvia, Daemon and Elias were attacking each other, and from what Filia could tell, the only one taking damage was Daemon. He had a large slash across his chest, which was bleeding freely. Elias grinned widely before he and Salvia disappeared in a flash of light. They quickly attacked each other, as the left only a blur in their wake. Daemon growled, before he joined them._

"_Freeze Ray!" Gieza shouted, as the holy attack shot toward Haleron, but Haleron was faster, and he slipped past the attack quickly before retorting with a "Void breath!"_

_The dark plasma shot from his snout as it streamed toward Gieza, and hit him in to the castle wall. Gieza, angrily snorted, then leaped into the air, and went at Haleron with his talons. They both arched their backs as they began swiping at each other. _

_Odilia, who was clamped tightly on Haleron's red mane, watched in transfixed eyes, as Gieza flew in front of them, and attacked Haleron. With a vicious swipe, Gieza cut Haleron's shoulder, down to his stomach._

"_Freeze Ray!"_

_Gieza backed up in agony, while his fist clutched his left eye in pain. The attack hit him from the cheek to the eye, causing it to sprout blood. The holy spell hit at point blank range. Gieza turned his murderous one eyed glare at Odile, who was standing on Haleron's back, while holding on to the mane. She matched his gaze with one of her own._

"_You freaky little hybrid!" Gieza shouted to her with venom. "You will regret that!"_

_Odile didn't reply, as she drew her arms away from Haleron's mane, and pointed them at Gieza. "Flare arrow!" She shouted, as dozens of burning arrows released down toward him. They hit him square in the chest, and on his wings, causing the cursing dragon to fall to the ground._

"_Follow him, Haleron." She said then grabbed his mane tightly, as they dove down to the dragon. _

"_She is rather powerful isn't she?" Kurokei asked, as he floated beside Filia. She stared at him for a moment then snorted._

"_You underestimate how much Xelloss put in to make her." She said defensively. Most didn't realize that in order for her to be created, Xelloss had to sacrifice a large deal of his astral body. _

_Kurokei stared at her in shock, as if he didn't believe what she had just said then simply replied, "You know, there is three things swarming around my brain that I want to retort to your last statement." He said, looking shocked. "But I think it would be best that I keep my mouth shut."_

"_That would always be best." She said matter-of-factly. _

"_You could always shut it for me." He said nonchalantly. _

"_Kurokei, Miriam!" Elias shouted, as he appeared close between the two, "Stop floating around and fight!" He shouted before being chased by Salvia._

_Miriam flew to where Filia was and beat her wings hesitantly at her, before weakly sending a 'Void Breath' at her. Filia dodged it quickly and stared down at the attacking dragon. She was so small._

"_Why are you on their side?" Filia shouted to the smaller dragon. "You don't want to be forced to attack Haleron and me do you, so why?"_

_Miriam looked at her hesitantly, before spiraling toward Filia, and bashed her head in to her shoulder blade. Filia cried out in pain. Even though Miriam was small, her strength was intense._

"_Don't talk, you'll just make it worst." Miriam shouted to her, "Just fight me head on, and don't hold back."_

_Filia stared at the tiny dragon, and knew that she didn't have the heart to fight her. Something was keeping her locked in Elias clutches, and she was going to figure it out. _

"_I don't want to fight you," Filia said to her, in pain as each time she flapped her wing she got sharp pains. _

"_That is apparent." Kurokei said taunted as he looked at her injury. "It looks like she cracked your shoulder blade."_

"_I have to!" Miriam shouted as she prepared to dive at Filia once more, but backed up as a jet of a holy spell just missed her from below. Then Haleron swiftly shot past them, with Gieza following angrily behind him. Haleron's speed was unmatched by Gieza, so the dragon evaded each of his attacks. _

_Elias appeared in front of Kurokei and Miriam looking frustrated. _

"_This is taking too much time, everyone focus on that dragon, we need to get going." He shouted then phased away._

_Miriam quickly flew after Haleron, as Kurokei sighed and saluted Filia, "Filly." then also phased away._

_Oh no. Filia thought, as she quickly flew toward them. _

_Elias quickly unleashed an attack on Haleron as he avoided Gieza's pursuit. The Silver Dragon swiftly swerved through the air, escaping their attacks. Elias went to attack again, when Salvia appeared behind him, striking him with an astral attack. He roared in pain, then turned his angry glare to her, as he swiftly, sent an astral energy around his fist and punched her through the gut._

"_Vrabazard Flare!" Filia shouted as her holy spell sprung from her mouth as she flew after Elias. He phased before the attack hit, and appeared right in front of Filia, causing the gold to halt._

"_Dear Filia, why do you tease me so, it's as if your jumping out in front of me saying 'here I am, please kill me'. I have promised a certain annoying priest that I would be waiting to kill you when he was present, but you are making it really difficult." He said as he looked down on her. _

"_Chaotic Disintergrate!" Filia shouted as a large pillar of holy magic erupted from beneath her, and engulfed Elias. _

_Daemon was currently healing Sal with his holy magic, while Haleron flew quickly over to Filia._

"_Did you get him?" He shouted as he paused in front of her._

"_I don't know, that was my strongest attack." She said weakly, briefly winded._

"_He is still here." Odilia said, sounding certain, as she looked around. Filia and Haleron also looked around for the monster to appear, but he did not._

_Then, before they could prevent it, Elias phased in, grabbed Odile and Phased away, regrouping with Gieza, Miriam and Kurokei._

"_NOO!" Filia shouted as she began to fly toward them, but was deflected by a barrier Elias put up. Haleron swiftly rammed in to it with all of his might, but it didn't falter. Daemon and Salvia, who was now healed from her wound, reappeared facing the others. _

"_Give her back!" Filia shouted in insanity, as she also continued to ram the barrier._

"_Sorry, but this has gone on long enough," Elias replied, as he held on to the squirming child._

_Haleron continued to ram in to the barrier, and it began to crack, causing Elias to look at him in shock. "You really impress me. But I really have to get going."_

"_Yes," Kurokei added slyly. "Before Dorian notice you're missing." _

_Elias snapped a malice gaze at Kurokei, as Filia stared at him in confusion. Dorian? As in King Dorian of the holy city of Seyruun?_

_Haleron, hit the barrier once more, which caused the barrier to shatter. He swiftly charged at Elias, but before he could reach him, Odilia disappeared._

_Everyone stared for a moment, bewildered where they tiny child went. "Odilia?" Haleron shouted in a panicky voice, as Elias began to growl. He looked around for her, not finding her either. _

_Then two women phased in between the two parties, causing everyone to fall silent._

_The first had a look of distain as she looked over Elias with her wide blue eyes. She had long black raven hair that flowed over her white gown, giving the misleading image of an angel. While the other, had short chopped golden orange hair that framed her face giving the impression of a wolf. She had her long hair held in tight braid that traveled down to her hips, and skin hugging royal purple pants, and a tight fitting top._

_Filia hadn't seen Zelas dress like that in years, and it never amazed her that even if it was the most clothes she has ever seen on the lord, she still looked as stunning as ever._

_On top of Zelas shoulders, Odilia sat silently, as she matched Zelas glare. Elias looked at the Beastmaster with fear._

"_Zelas,-" He began nervously._

"_Lord Zelas!" Odilia shouted darkly to him._

"_Domink," she said acknowledging him, "How rude of you to interrupt a meeting with my sister." Zelas said looking down on him coldly. "You have a lot of bravely to step foot in my palace, kill my gatekeeper, damage one of my most loyal servents, and try to take what's mine." _

"_It appears I have over stayed my welcome." He in rage then phased away._

_Miriam and Gieza swiftly phased away also, as Kurokei, gave a sarcastic wave and then also disappeared._

_Filia, quickly landed, cursing herself for flying with a cracked shoulder. She really over exhausted herself out this time. Zelas and the others landed around her as Odile jumped off of the Beastmaster, and ran to her mother. _

"_Mom are you alright?" She asked. Filia transformed back in to her human form, and looked down at Odilia painfully. "I will be fine."_

_Zelas looked over her for a minute and shifted her gaze on to Deep Sea Dolphin. "What a rude host I am, Doll, I hope you can forgive me."_

_Dolphin looked at her calmly then replied in a low sweet voice. "Of course sister."_

_Odilia walked over to Dolphin and bowed to her. "Miss Dolphin, what a pleasure to see you today."_

_Dolphin smiled sweetly down at the child, and replied. "Thank you child, I am pleased to find you unharmed today." She said as she looked over her with her unnaturally large blue eyes. _

_Haleron landed beside Filia, and swiftly transformed in to his human body, and fell limply on to the ground. The blood from his wounds began to collect in puddles on the ground. Dolphin stared at it for a moment at looked back up at Zelas._

"_It seems, he is hurt." She replied in a calm voice as she stared down on him curiously._

"_Uh," Zelas replied to her spacey sister, "Yep he sure does, good eye Doll."_

_Odilia ran over to Haleron, and lifted his head in her tiny hands. She looked in to his exhausted eyes, and gave him a scolding look. "Silly prisoner, who told you you're aloud to get hurt?" _

"_Sorry, my princess." He replied to her weakly, while smiling. This caused her eyes to well in tears as she plopped down beside him and began to cry._

"_Ultimate punishment!" she shouted in her sobs. Then her face snapped back up, her tears gone. "This time, you're going to pay." She said in a dark tone._

_Haleron just chuckled softly, "I look forward to it."_

_Salvia walked over to Filia, and began creating miasma in her hand, and swiftly ran it over her cracked shoulder blade. Filia immediately felt relief as the pain washed away. _

"_Thank you."_

_Sal nodded her head and helped her up on to her feet. They walked over to Dolphin and Zelas together with Daemon, and each bowed to Dolphin._

"_Lord Zelas, I have something interesting you might want to hear." Filia spoke out._

"_Oh, and what is that?" She asked, as her golden eyes stared at hers unblinking. Filia shifted her gaze to Odilia, unable to look in to her eyes._

"_I think that Kurokei let slip where Domink has been hiding." She replied. _

_Zelas looked at her with an awed expression. "Really, do you think he honest, or was trying to fake you out?"_

"_I'm not sure, but either way I thought I would bring it up. He said something about Dorian, and I believe that they are planning something in Seyruun."_


	21. Planning, and Suspicions!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. How could you ever think otherwise?

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_Note to __**Silvia**__ – THANKS! Your ongoing support really makes me happy! WHO EVER YOU ARE! An yeah, When it comes to Seyruun, Amelia takes it personal._

_Note to all others – Thank you all for your reviews! It really helps a lot the hear everyone's honest opinions. An knowing people like my story gives me that extra push to write. THANKS BUNCHES!_

_Authors note: the more I write this, the more I notice it's not really a romance. I'm going to go stamp myself with my EPIC FAIL stamp I made at staples now. . . _

_I promise there will be Xel-Fil goodness in the future, Just hang in there with me!_

**Chapter 21 – Planning, and Suspicions?**

"_All monsters know that the city of Seyruun is protected by a seal that keeps monsters away from its holy grounds." Salvia addressed everyone who had regrouped inside Zelas conference room._

_Filia looked around each of the members of the room apprehensively. It was hard to believe that a moment before, they were battling Domink, the monster who started the War of Severance, and now they were setting comfortable in a room Zelas kept for war councils. _

"_So, to think a Monster has something going on in Seyruun, is a highly radical statement." Salvia continued. "But the fact of the matter is, that without proof of there being no possible way in to the city, makes the claim quite valid, and worth looking in to." _

"_What all do we know about Seyruun as of now?" Haleron asked in a serious tone. This was the first time the dragon had ever entered the conference room, and Filia marveled at his calm and observant etiquette. _

"_The only knowledge we have of the current state of the capital of Seyruun is this-" Salvia replied. "The city of Seyruun is one of the oldest cities of the world. Over the many years, the amount of white magic had blossomed over the kingdom, and after the Mazoku barrier fell so many centuries ago, the city became even more protected. Around that time it was placed under a divine protection spell by the queen, that when a monster entered the walls of the city, there powers would be drained leaving the monster defenseless." _

"_And that spell is still in effect today?" Odilia asked amazed. "What a powerful sorcerers she must have been for her magic to still linger when she, or even magic it's self has long since passed."_

"_Yes, that is an amazing feat, but she didn't do it alone. They say that with the combine power of the king, and a magical amplifier that was built in the city, she was able to create a spell strong enough." Salvia answered her. _

"_So then, according to Kurokei's claim, Domink is in contact with Dorian the young king of the capital?" Haleron wanted to clarify._

"_Yes, He mentioned him to Domink before they left yesterday-" Filia said. "Domink was saying that he needs to hurry and Kurokei said 'Before Dorian notice you're missing.' This could mean someone else entirely, but I believe that they are referring to the young king of Seyruun, King Dorian Wil Eldoran Seyruun."_

_Each of them slowly looked at Zelas as she sat and pondered this information, but she said nothing, as she silently sucked on her cigarette._

"_I have one other question." Haleron interjected. "Since you each went to the Fire Dragon Temple and saw that Gieza was working under the supreme elder, does that mean you think the Dragon race as a whole is working for Domink, or just him?"_

"_That is a good question," Daemon said thoughtfully. "I don't want to seem over optimistic, but I don't believe the Dragon race as a whole is working for Domink. It seems that over the years, he has changed his ongoing vendetta against the Dragons, and began instead capturing them and using them as slaves."_

"_Like the little girl that was with them yesterday?" Odilia pointed out._

"_Yes, her name was Miriam I believe." Daemon replied down at Odilia, and then looked up at Haleron. "She said you were her cousin, correct?"_

"_Yeah that's right." Haleron replied, "She and I used to live together with our mothers seven years ago before the attack of the monsters. Her mother was the elder of our clan, and when she and my mother died, all the dragons fled from the attack. I thought that she was killed in the battle, apparently not." He said scratching his head._

"_She said you were part gold, is that true?" Filia inquired. _

"_Yeah, and that's not all. Something that not many knew, not even Miriam, is that we are actually half siblings."_

"_You both have the same father?" Filia asked with wide eyes._

"_Yeah," he replied to her sounding slightly disgusted. "He was a golden dragon, so it was rather scandalous that he was even with one of the Dimos dragons of the clan. It was always told that they were brothers, my father and hers."_

"_So Domink might be lying to the dragons to gain their trust." Salvia concluded. "But then, why would all the dragons gather at the Fire Dragon Temple if they know their being hunted? Wouldn't be more effective to spread apart from each other?" _

"_That's just the way dragons think." Daemon said to her. "When there is a great threat looming over, we keep together to better defend ourselves."_

"_A flawed way of thinking if you ask me." Haleron interjected. "When it comes to monsters, Dragons really don't have much of a chance." He paused at the shocked glances he received. "What, it's true. Only the Gold Dragons really had much of a chance against monsters with their holy spells. An even then that only gave them a small chance. Dimos dragons don't have the magic capabilities as Golds do, so we are easy pickings." He said shrugged._

"_But since you have Gold dragon blood, you are capable of magic then your kin." Odilia added._

"_That's right. Miriam and I were the only ones of our clan who could create human bodies. The rest can only take their original forms. So that is why they stay in one place. When a dragon is out on their own, they have no chance of survival, as when they are all grouped in a large gathering, they have more of a chance to escape."_

"_At the distraction of others." Salvia stated looking over him coolly._

"_Exactly. They use the other dragons as a shield to make their escape. As I said, a flawed way of thinking." _

"_Daemon," Zelas finally spoke up, looking at the older dragon with her haunting gaze, "What news from the Tower of Wind?"_

_Daemon straightened up, looking like he had been waiting for this to be brought up. "Yes Lord Beastmaster. First, as you presumed, there were no dragons hiding in the Temple of Wind. Valwin is as unyielding to your plight as always, But I was able to get a considerable amount of information from him this time." _

"_Tell me what you found." She commanded._

"_Valwin had been keeping an eye on Domink, and already knew about him having Dragons join his ranks. He also already knew that Domink was after a specific dragon, which I now believe is Odile." He said looking over at the tiny girl who sat on a squishy pillow looking up at him curiously._

"_Valwin also gave me some disturbing news." The tall man said causing the room to go dead silent. "He said that Domink was not the one pulling all the strings in his mad plan." _

"_Are you saying that Domink is now working for somebody else?" Salvia asked in a flat tone._

"_It is what the Wind God insinuated." He said as he looked down at the small monster with an unreadable gaze. _

_Filia looked from the two of them as thoughts of horror plagued her mind. If Domink was working for someone else that means the one who was really pulling the strings would be more powerful than him. If that was the case, the idea of it being another rouge monster seemed unlikely. This only left somebody who was working directly under one of the three Mazoku lords. _

"_What if he is working for a dragon?" Odilia asked curiously._

"_No, I don't think that" Zelas said dismissively, as her eyes looked beyond all they could see, as she began to form her thoughts on the matter. They all sat silent as she thought in peace._

_After a silent moment Deep sea dolphin placed her tea cup down on the table and turned her eerie wide blue gaze on to Zelas._

"_Perhaps that has something to do with him going to Seyruun?" _

"_That is a valid guess." Zelas replied to her. "Perhaps we should go over what we know. Filia, I believe you knew the Queen of Seyruun quite personally, correct?" She asked Filia._

"_Yes I did." Filia replied to her, as she thought about the far away past._

"_Do you have any information on the barrier?" _

"_Not that I can remember." Filia replied. "I think most of my memory has returned to me, so I think that is the honest truth. I knew she drew the barrier, but I do not know how the spell worked."_

"_I see." Zelas said as she put out her cigarette. "Daemon, Filia, I have a new mission for you." She said as she crossed her arms. "I want you to go to observe Seyruun. Find out all you can about the magic barrier that surrounds the city." She commanded. "Salvia, I want you to return to your Gatekeeper duties. Now that we know someone is attempting to take Odilia, we will need all the extra protection we can afford."_

_Filia and the other two nodded their heads at her. "Odile, I am going to increase your lessons with me, and I want you and Haleron to travel together at all times now." She continued._

"_Does this mean we are abandoning our pursuit to find information on the sorcerer who trapped Rufus?" Salvia asked the Beastmaster._

"_We have already found him." Zelas confirmed with her. "He is a Prince of Zoana. Apparently Domink, was disguising himself as a traveling scholar, showed the humans way's to enhance there meeker magical capacity."_

"_So a monster was responsible for what happened to Rufus?" Daemon asked bewildered._

"_Apparently." Zelas replied to him uninterested. "Xelloss is currently traveling with the royal family, as they travel to Seyruun themselves. Their daughter was kidnapped by Domink a few days ago, and in exchange of information of how the boy casted the spell on Rufus, he and Val are providing protection to the royal family on their journey. At least as far as he can, due to the barrier and all" _

"_Why would they be traveling all the way to Seyruun?" Salvia questioned._

"_Xelloss said that they had family there and I also suggested that they move that way. A little bird told me that what they seek is in the holy capital."_

_Filia wondered what Zelas meant by that. She is having Xelloss and Val heading for Seyruun, and now Daemon and herself were also traveling that way. If the princess was captured, wouldn't the family stay in the castle and wait for her return? _

_Filia looked over at Odilia as she sat quietly observing the adults. No, she thought, they would go out in search for her. _

"_So we are no longer visiting the Earth Temple Lord Beastmaster?" Daemon asked._

"_I think Seyruun is where we will focus your attention for now." Zelas replied. "We need to find out what is going on behind those holy walls before we continue to mess around with the dragons. Now that we have the sorcerer that caused Rufus curse, and have seen Domink move against us, the best course of action is to be prepared for his next strike. I believe something is going on in Seyruun." She said which settled the matter for everyone. _

"_Zelas, about what you talked about earlier, do you want me to keep to the same course of action?" Dolphin asked the golden monster._

"_Yes Doll, make you are not found out. This attack and the information I have gathered today has proved what I suggested is true." Zelas replied hauntingly to Dolphin then returned he gaze to Filia. "Say your goodbye's and then go to Seyruun. If you find anything at all, report back to me as soon as possible."_

_Filia nodded her head and looked over at Odilia. The tiny girl was smiling brightly at her, which caused her heart to ache. How could she just leave her when she knew someone was after her?_

_Xelloss words from before echoed deep in her heart. 'Trust her Judgment'._

_Filia sighed as she held her daughter closely. Zelas could protect her, even more so then I could. It was a hard truth, but it was a comforting hard truth. Haleron would be there to. After the ways she saw him protect her today, she would never doubt his loyalty to the girl._

_She slowly released Odilia and looked down her with confident eyes, holding back in the tears that begged to flow._

"_You're going to be alright, ok."_

_Odilia nodded her head. "Yes momma, you too." _

_Filia's heart slowly cracked as she looked down in to her violet gaze. "I will see you when I return."_

"_Ok, and tell daddy I love him, and Val too, if you run in to them." She said to her whole heartedly._

_Filia's heart skipped a beat. Xelloss and Val were headed for Seyruun. A hopeful smile split across her face, as she was unable to hold it back. Xelloss . . . _

"Oh look how happy she is!" Lina pointed out and began to laugh. "You're so CUTE Filia!" Lina taunted her in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh thank you Miss Lina, I can't help it. Honest. I just love Xelloss so MUCH!"Xelloss shouted in a high pitched voice as he clapped his hands together and popped his leg out gleefully.

"Xelloss, I swear!" Filia threatened as veins began to bubble on her forehead, as she flushed in anger and glared at the bouncy monster.

He giggled happily and poked her forehead with his finger. "Oh Filia, you're so cute when you blush!" he giggled once more.

"Please stop talking in that high pitched voice Mr. Xelloss, it's really creepy." Amelia said weakly as she stared at the monster in fear.

Filia turned her glare away from the excited monster and placed it somewhere more useful, which ended up being the wall. A wall was better anyway, she grumbled to herself.

"How can you be so happy any ways?" Amelia complained to Xelloss, "How unjust of the evil monsters who wish to taint the holy grounds of my dear Seyruun." She mourned.

"They are not sure of anything yet Amelia." Gourry replied trying to cheer up the saddened princess. "It could just be a fluke, and the Dorian guy could have just been their grocer or something."

"And why,-" Lina asked looking up at him skeptically, "Would a monster need a grocer?"

Gourry scratched his head at this and then replied seriously, "Why not?"

Lina sighed and shook her head. "Gourry, sometimes you amaze me."

Gourry seemed to not understand what she meant by that, and broke in to a large happy grin. "Thanks Lina! You always seem to amaze me too." He grinned at her. She looked up at him repelled as she began to blush.

"W-what is that suppose to mean you big palooka?"

Amelia looked over at Zelgadis with shinny eyes. Still feeling distressed "Mr. Zelgadis, this is terrible, Seyruun is in trouble and nobody seems to care."

He looked down at her and sighed. Gently he placed his hand on her shoulder, and locked his eyes in to hers. "As long as strong hearts stay united, Seyruun will never fall to the will of monsters."

Amelia's cheeks reddened as she looked up at him with uplifted eyes. "Oh Mr. Zelgadis, do you mean it?"

He looked down at the girl who looked up at him with bright eyes. Maybe he was just saying that to make her feel better, but the way she looked at him made him feel a little, ah unjust.

"I mean it." He said selfishly to her, causing her eyes to widen in happiness. Her tears disappeared and she looked up at him confidently.

"Your right Mr. Zelgadis, The heart of Seyruun will never fall in to the greedy hands of the sinful monsters. Only the repented shall walk proudly in Seyruun." She spoke out.

"Now that I think about it," Filia said as she turned to where Amelia was standing, "They said the queen placed a powerful spell that kept monsters away from Seyruun. Would you know anything about that Amelia?"

"Well it's funny they mentioned that Miss Filia." Amelia said thoughtfully as she turned to her. "My father had once mentioned that my mother was creating such a spell, but uh-" She paused slowly and looked sadly.

"I understand," Filia interrupted the girl, feeling bad for bringing up painful memories. "So the spell was unfinished."

Amelia nodded her head at her confirming what she said. Xelloss raised his hand to his chin as he thought silently. "Perhaps,-" He said thoughtfully, "Your older sister would know something about it Miss Amelia?"

This caused Amelia to look up at him curiously. "That could be Mr. Xelloss; after all, my sister is first in line for the throne, before me. Maybe she was the queen they mentioned, and she had recreated the spell our mother created many years ago." She thought out loud.

"But didn't Lord Zelas say Filia knew the queen personally?" Gourry asked suddenly. "Do you know Amelia's sister Filia?"

"No I don't." Filia replied as she folded her hands in her lap. "But I could meet her later in life, I suppose."

"That's true." Lina added as she looked from Amelia to Filia.

"Well, in any case, I have a question for you Nexus." Zelgadis brought up looking down at the Mazoku book.

"Oh, and what would that be?"

"When we began this, you claimed to recall an incident that could help us figure a way to return me back in to a human." He began.

"I did." Nexus replied somewhat hesitantly.

"I've been thinking that is not the only reason you're showing these things, is it?" The Chimera asked.

The room got silent, as everyone turned their gaze down on to the book sat on the table. Filia's eyes looked over her shoulder and locked on to Xelloss face. His eyes were closed, but his eye brows were narrowed as he looked down at the book.

He felt her gaze and looked up from the book, and locked his violet gaze on to hers. She stared back at him with transfixed eyes.

"You know, you shouldn't take all the credit for figuring that out Zel," Lina spoke out, with one of her hands on her hips, and the other holding her head. She snapped her cherry eyes on the book in a knowing gaze. "Cuz I figured that out a while ago."

Amelia looked from Zel, to Lina, then to Nexus. "Mr. Nexus, is that true?"

"What I said was true," The book began to speak slowly, as if carefully wording what it was about to say. "The story of Rufus does seem similar to what you are going through Mr. Zelgadis. I only hoped to help answer your quest."

"You know, you say that," Lina began, "But if that was truly the case, you would have just showed him how Rufus became repaired. So why would you show all of this information, unless you had an alternative motive?"

Filia's eyes widened at Lina's words, and slowly released her gaze from Xelloss and looked down to the book. "Nexus?"

The book sighed at the sound of her voice, sounding defeated, but remained silent.

"Well, if he doesn't want to tell us, maybe we should just continue to watch until it is revealed?" Gourry suggested.

Everyone looked up at Gourry with confusion. "How can you take this so lightly?" Zelgadis asked him.

"Well, from what I can tell, He seems to care about Filia." He said as if that settled everything.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lina asked him, not even bothering with sounding annoyed.

"Well, if he really cares about her, he wouldn't want to do anything to upset her." He reasoned. "So whatever his reason is, it probably will be more helpful then harmful."

Everyone remained silent as they thought over what he said. Even if what he said made sense, it didn't cover the fact that Nexus was defiantly hiding something.

"Well, it's not like we are going to stop now." Lina decided. "We might as well continue, until he is ready." She sighed as she held her head.

"Thank you." Nexus said finally. "I had rather hoped you wouldn't figure it out, but it will all make sense very soon."

"Yeah yeah," Lina waved her hand dismissively. "Stop rubbing it in and start up already." She shouted as she plopped back down on the couch next to Gourry.

"Alright," He replied, back in his upbeat tone. "Now you really need to start to pay attention; this is where things really go amiss." Nexus warned, as he started up the magic screen once more.


	22. Enter the Holy Capital Seyruun!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. I do have a massive headache thought . . oww. . .

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_Authors note: So I realized that 'Pilgrim', was suppose to be 'Pilgrimage'. Whoops, my bad._

**Chapter 22 – Enter the Holy Capital Seyruun? **

_It had been a long time since Filia had been to the holy city of Seyruun. In the great city, the roads of Seyruun formed the biggest magic circle of the world. That same magic circle used to amplify a white magic power, and weakened all other types of magic. That was of course back when magic was still common. In the past, the magic of the holy kingdom was so strong; a Mazoku would be weakened by stepping foot inside the kingdom. That was before the Queen Amelia amplified the spell with her own twist, which caused it almost fatal for a monster to enter the city. _

_The city had expanded substantially since the rein of Queen Amelia, in to one of the largest cities of the world. The protective barrier that was surrounds the city, unknown of by its people, kept the kingdom safe from the outside threats of the world. The kingdoms pacifist background had kept the Kingdom from being involved in many wars, and the reaching kindness from them caused Seyruun to become sort of an older sibling to neighboring countries, that helped when other countries were having troubles, or there was strife between two or more kingdoms._

_Seyruun was known for its charitable hospitality, which caused many to travel to, and even become citizens of the city. Due to the countries rich natural resources, the kingdom flourished in plentiful wealth that helped the inhabitants with their welfare of state. Even the slums of the city where the less fortunate dwelled seemed more affluent then most other countries._

_According to information the monster race discussed in a recent war council that Filia attended, the late king of Seyruun, Lloyd El Gregory Seyruun's death caused the succession of the young Dorian Wil Eldoran Seyruun to the throne. It was informed that the prince had his coronation a little over a month before, and according to the gossip, Dorian's younger siblings all accepted him to ascend the throne. _

_Filia walked along Daemon silently as she looked over the city of Seyruun, experiencing a small case of nostalgia. The structure of the inner city remained the same as she remembered. The seal of the city remained, though many of the buildings had changed. She told herself that while she was in the city, she had to remember to visit the Temple of Cepheid. _

_The two of them silently made their way to the castle of Seyruun, while they tried to blend in with the citizens of the city. They had both dressed in concealing traveling clothes, which had hoods that covered their ears. Filia wore a short, sleeveless green dress, that was covered by a royal blue cloak. Her hair which was kept under her hood, hung lose from her head till it reached past her lower back, then was wove in a braid to keep it from dragging on the ground. She traded her grey boots for a pair of knee high white leather boots with a rather tall heel._

_Even though Filia was naturally tall to begin with, the added on height from her boots still only brought her to Daemon's back. Daemon had his usual black clothing on, with a large black cloak that veiled his face from curious on lookers. He quietly led the way as she followed closely behind him. _

_Ever since they left Wolfpack Island, Daemon remained silent. Filia felt rather awkward by this, but continued to not speak. This behavior was out of place for the tall black dragon, who was usually at least sociable. The absence of the monotone Sal made their party seem even more incomplete, and Filia wondered if that also served as the cause for the more reclusive Daemon._

_As they neared the castle, Filia observed the similarities and changes from when she last viewed the grand palace. The structure was built almost entirely of a white type of stone, and glass. There were many archways that lead to the outside, both with and without windows and doors. Even from the outside the scale of artistry showed. Filia smiled as she looked on at the castle with a pleased look. Something's were better left unchanged._

_The guards of the castle gates stiffened as they approached. Filia had expected this, considering how formidable Daemon appeared. She wondered how they were going to pass into the palace._

"_Halt." A royal guard commanded as they arrived at the castle gates. _

"_Were going to need to see some identification to let you pass." He commanded as he stood in their path._

_Daemon removed his hood, revealing his long, pointed ears as he looked down on the guard._

"_My name is Daemon, I have been sent here by my master to talk to your king about a danger that may be looming near." _

_Filia looked from Daemon to the guard, wondering what would be the outcome. The guard seemed baffled about what to do. He appeared to register Daemon's lineage, but didn't look certain of what course of action to carry out. Filia decided to remove her hood as well, and turned her kind eyes on to the guard._

"_We wish to have peaceful discussion with your ruler," Filia said to him in a warm voice. "We mean no harm to your King or Seyruun."_

_The guard looked from Filia to Daemon, looking scared then lenient. Finally he stood straight and seated his flag. "I will personally escort you in to the castle; there you will remain under my supervision." _

"_Thank you sir." Filia said smiling at him, causing his cheeks to redden. _

_They swiftly entered the palace, lead by the alarmed guard. As they walked, Filia noticed that she was filled with an unplaced happiness that spread through her whole body. She had felt like that since they had first appeared in Seyruun. Perhaps it was returning to a place with many happy memories, or perhaps knowing she might meet up with Xelloss soon. If the seal on the city had really fallen, that is._

_The guard led them into the throne room to wait on the king. The spacious room was bare and wide, with only one chair on the far wall. It sat on a platform of velvet red and gold steps, and behind hung a large white tapestry that bore the Seyruun crest._

_It was silent aside from the click of Filia's heels, as they walked the stretch of the room to where the seat over looked chamber. Filia looked around the room as Daemon continued to stare down at the guard._

"_Will you be informing your king of our arrival?" He asked, coming off as pretentious to Filia. _

_The guard whimpered lightly, and then scooted out of the room quickly. Filia stared at him lightly fuming. Whatever his problem was, he didn't need to take it out on the guard. She was so offended by his poor behavior she prepared to say something before she caught his eye and was quickly silenced. _

_The moments dragged by, and the silence began to annoy Filia to the point of tears. She couldn't stand waiting in the large quiet room much longer, and Daemon wasn't helping the situation. This was the moment she wished that Xelloss would appear. He loved to prey on her when she was tense like now. He would silently just phase into the room, and sneak up behind her and quietly blow in to her ear scaring the living light out of her. Then tease her about her clothes, while slipping hidden complements at her._

_She sighed sadly. His endless taunting would be more welcome then the ongoing silence between her and her dragon companion. What could have caused his drastic change in attitude? Was he uncomfortable traveling with her by himself? Perhaps he didn't know what to say? _

_The large white arches of the castle walls drew her attention as she looked out at the kingdom in front of them. The bright white sunlight glittered on the white stone of the castle, filling her with warmth, and even security. Seyruun truly was a magical place._

_They continued to wait until the guard finally returned, along with another man. This man appeared to be in his late fifties, and his blonde hair was slightly graying. He wore finely trimmed slacks, and walked with grace, and arrogance._

"_Welcome travelers, so good of you to come to our fair city of Seyruun." He spoke as he took Filia's hand in his gloved palm, before bending down and lightly pecking it with his lips. "Such a bountiful and unusual guest we have today."_

_Filia's eyes narrowed as she looked on to the man in front of her. He seemed to be too old to be the king, and the little stunt he just pulled put him on her bad list fairly quickly._

"_So then my guest, I believe I have not introduced myself, I am Lord Pingleton, Duke of Seyruun." He introduced himself as he placed his hand over his heart and gave a tight bow. _

"_What a pleasure to meet you, your Grace," Filia replied in as she too bowed. "My name is Filia Ul Copt, and this is my companion Daemon." she pointed to the dragon to here left. _

"_Well how very nice to meet you miss Filia, and Mr. Daemon." Lord Pingleton said. "Please follow me if you will." He asked as he reached his arm out to Filia. She decided she might as well play along to keep away from trouble, as she accepted is arm._

"_How sorry I am to inform you the King is currently in the middle of a prior engagement and is not available at this time. In the meantime we would like to accommodate you, you were planning to stay were you not?" He asked them as he led them out of the throne room._

"_Er-" Filia sputtered unaware how to answer his question. _

"_Until our duties are fulfilled, we wish to stay in the palace." Daemon stressed._

"_Good - good." Pingleton replied in a cheery voice as they walked on._

_Filia risked a glance at Daemon, with a confused look on her face. The dragon seemed to feel her stare, and he turned to her with a shrug that she translated as, 'Just endure it, where here for Zelas' she turned her head from him and hung her head in defeat._

"_So then my dear, who did you say you were sent here by?" Pingleton asked in a coy manner, as Filia lifted her head back up swiftly._

"_I never did say, you're Grace." She replied, deciding that it was probably a given not to drop the Mazoku bomb just yet._

"_Oh come now, you can just call me Sir Pingleton if you wouldn't mind." He chuckled._

"_Of course, Sir Pingleton." Filia replied in a less enthuses voice._

_They arrived at a large double door, as the guard slowly opened the door. "This room shall before the lady." He said, as Pingleton released her arm. Filia turned to look at them and slowly stepped toward the room._

"_Of course we won't keep you far from your companion. His room shall be right down the hall." Pingleton said to her in a reassuring voice. "We will also send for clothes for you to wear, as it appears you have not brought any."_

"_You're too kind." Filia said as she bowed to him. He gave her a warm smile, and then shut the door. Filia turned from the door and looked at the large room. It was bigger than the room she and Xelloss shared at home, and felt even more emptier. _

_After she removed her cloak, and placed it over a chair, she began to unbraid her hair. There was a large vanity that was fit for a duchess in the large room, which she seated herself in front of it. She felt slightly unworthy as she took a brush down her golden hair. How many times have she fell prey to a man's need to play dress up with her? No doubt 'sir' Pingleton would hand pick all her dresses. _

_She sighed as she looked in the mirror, and resumed brushing her hair. _

_After a long while, a royal servant arrived with her clothes, and informed her that she and Daemon were invited to dinner with the Duke, and the Duchess of Seyruun. She asked if the King would also be present, he told her he had not received any information of that matter._

_The servant brought her many dresses, and as she looked over them, each one looked more extravagant then the last. She secretly wondered how they could possible know her size and height, and have prepared dresses for her so quickly._

_She looked over the many dresses, and decided on the less flashy one she could find. When she pulled it on, she viewed her refection in the vanity and found that she actually enjoyed the way it hung on her. It had a wide neckline that connected to the round sleeves. The fabric gathered under her bust line, then fell in a waterfall of silk toward the ground. The bottom of the dress flared out at the bottom slightly, and opened up as she took a step, causing the dress to have the image of movement as she walked._

_The dress was a light mauve color that contrasted her fair skin nicely, and brought out the gold of her hair out. She doubled a long pearl necklace around her neck she found on the vanity to complete the look, and sighed. Even if she was annoyed, she was always a sucker for dress up._

"Brr-" Lina's teeth chatted as she wrapped her arms around her body while watching the screen. "Why is it so cold here? With the lack of physical activity I feel like my body is shutting down." She complained as she shivered.

"Considering we have only sat here watching this screen for two days, our bodies haven't really had any exercise." Zelgadis replied to her, also looking rather chilled underneath his rock like exterior.

"I don't understand why it is snowing outside anyway!" Lina shouted in frustration. "It shouldn't be snowing, and it hasn't stopped since we have arrived here!"

"Since this is a place I've created with my power, I have designed this space to my liking." Nexus replied. "Currently the weather is not as frosty, but I find this setting more suitable for sitting around inside."

"Well I think it's nice, with the warmth of the fire place I feel pretty cozy." Gourry stated thoughtfully.

"Well yeah Mr. Gourry," Amelia pointed out, "Your also much more larger than me and Lina, so you produce more body heat then we do."

"You know, I am getting rather hungry." Filia brought up. Since she was the only one who had barely touched her lunch and breakfast. Unlike the others, she was having a problem eating foreign foods. They just looked to strange for her to try and consume.

"It is about dinner time." Amelia said thoughtfully.

"YEAH!" Gourry shouted excitedly. "Lina, let's try new foods together!" He smiled happily down at her.

"I'm with you all the way big guy!" Lina replied equaling his excitement.

"I will go ahead and set the table then." Nexus replied sounding dejected as he traveled over the dinning part of the room. New foods filled the buffet table as Lina and Gourry ran to retrieve their feast. In a way, they could probably stay and never leave. The food seemed to be limitless, the more they ate, the more that would appear.

"Shall we mister Zelgadis?" Amelia asked the chimera as she looked up at him. "Perhaps while we eat, we could discuss future Seyruun." She said with hopeful eyes.

"That sounds ok with me. You know, did you notice the redecoration of the throne room's tapestry, the Seyruun symbol has changed drastically-" he began to discussing with the princess as they made their way over to the table of food.

Filia sighed and stretched her back on the couch, not quick to jump up for the food she claimed to have wanted. She placed her hands over her eyes, and felt much drained. She enjoyed the brief silence, not feeling invaded by having everyone watching her. It had grown tiresome, watching herself, as did others. She just wanted to seclude herself in her small home with Gravos and the ever helpful Jillias. How was Val's egg doing? What if he hatched while she was gone?

She was homesick. That was the feelings she was experiencing now. Her home where she could curl in a ball on her wide couch at home and read a novel, or even dealing with her wide range of customers. Even a unbearable customer would seem like a breath of fresh air right now, if it meant getting away and stepping back in to her life.

"What are you thinking about?" A cheery tenor voice asked softly beside her. She visibly sighed and moved her hand from her eyes and looked over the cheerful priest. How misleading his calm face appeared. He had practiced, and excelled in intimating a human, she bitterly thought. If she let herself, she could easily forget he was a monster, the enemy of her race, and think of him as just, normal.

Ok, maybe normal wasn't quite the word she would use to describe him, but still, if he needs to be, he could appear as any invisible passerby, if he wanted. He was always overly curious, and seemed to not want to leave her to own memories of happy times with her family.

"If you must know," She replied quietly not wanting to gain attention of the others, "I am thinking about home."

"Ah." He replied simply, as he crossed his legs as he sat beside her. "Young Val and the Beastmen." He stated.

"They have names Xelloss." She said sourly. "They are people just like me and yo-" she paused, as he cracked an eye at her.

They sat there in silence for a few moments before anyone said anything, before she changed the subject from her slip up.

"Are you not home sick Xelloss? It must be hard being kept from your master."

"Well that is a secret Fi-chan." He grinned as she shook her head. She should have known that bringing up personal questions would result in his over used catch phrase. He was like a flip of a coin; you had to take your chance which side you would get, the telling, or the concealing side.

"I think you should try to eat something." He replied suddenly, as she looked up at him. "For some reason, you have not been eating properly these last few days, and it is beginning to show." He said then grinned at her. "Why is that?"

She frowned at the smug bastard. Of course he had noticed her not eating well, he always did things like that so he could rub them in her face at a later point. "I have a problem eating foreign foods."

"Oh?" He asked curiously, as he looked over her quickly. "Then why don't you ask Nexus to prepare you something your more familiar with?" He asked reasonably.

"I guess I didn't wish to bother him." She said thoughtfully.

Xelloss clicked his tongue at her, "Or you just didn't think of it. Why don't you try and be honest with your feelings Filia?"

She was slightly taken aback by his comment. "What do you mean?" she asked him alarmed.

"Oh nothing in particular." He giggled.

Filia sunk deeper in the couch feeling more stressed out then before. He always seemed to know what buttons to push to send her down a path of misery and mayhem.

"Anyway," He said as he rose from the couch, and offered her his hand, "We should probably head over before Lina and Gourry consume the table it's self."

She looked from his cracked eye, to his extended hand in shock, and slowly extended her own without realizing it, and took his allowing him to help her up.


	23. A Requiem For A Chicken?

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I do own all of seasons, FINALLY!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 23 – Requiem for a Chicken? **

"Well that's the thing Mr. Gourry!" Amelia shouted as she pointed her fork toward him, "The bright side of any situation can prove to be the most helpful motivation a person needs. Before one takes their last terminal breath, just living means there is always hope!" She explained with stars in her eyes.

"Yeah but Amelia, if that is true, what if you're unable to rescue yourself from some sort of calamity? Say you had the choice to save yourself, but in doing so you sacrifice somebody else's life?" He asked her in between bites of his meatloaf.

"Oh, if you can, try and save both. If you can't, then in the pursuit of justice, you must always put yourself in the way of danger to protect those weaker then you."She replied, as she threw a piece of ravioli in her mouth.

"You should never so recklessly throw your life away like that." Zelgadis mumbled as he poured French dressing on his chef salad.

"It's not reckless, Mr. Zelgadis!" Shouted Amelia, "If another's life is in peril, a knight of justice should always see it as their personal duty to save them, no matter the cost."

"If you say so Amelia," Lina replied as she threw another clean bone on her plate. "But personally, if you can't save them, get out while you can. Why die for one person when you could save hundreds more later?"

"How heartless!" Amelia shouted in anger.

"Why save them in the first place?" Xelloss chimed in.

"Besides, What if the one person you saved turns around and saves more then you could have?" She pointed out, ignoring Xelloss completely. "When it comes to a person's life, you shouldn't rationalize like that."

"I would sacrifice my life." Filia said, as she looked down at her stew. Her eyes looked glazed as she thought hard about the conversation that spurred from her companions.

Lina looked at Filia with a sigh. "Seeing as you were raised by the gods, it isn't hard for me to believe that Filia."

"It's not that," Filia said quietly. "It's just humans live such short lives, It feels selfish for me to live when one's life would be ended."

"And what if they were not human?" Gourry asked her seriously. "For example, what if it was uh," He paused as he thought about somebody that wasn't human and his eyes fell on a confused priest. "Xelloss?"

It was silent for a moment as everybody stared at Filia, then as if she realized what he said Lina let out a loud snort, which busted into a fray of rolling laughter.

"Oh that is rich!" She chortled as she slammed her fist on the table. "Why would Filia ever need to risk her life to save Xelloss?" she laughed as she looked at Gourry wondering what he was thinking.

"Well I don't know, just because he is strong doesn't mean he couldn't be surprised attacked. We saw that when he was over taken by Kurokei." Gourry pointed out, which caused Xelloss to stiffen at the memory.

"Ok, I understand why you would think that," Lina nodded, as she subdued her laughter, "But if you think down that path, if it was a surprise attack, how could Filia prevent it?"

That seemed to stump the swordsman, as he pondered what the answer to her question could be.

Filia sighed and sipped her tea, deciding she didn't like the stew that was in front of her and pushed it away from her, losing her appetite. From where he sat, Xelloss smiled calmly with his eyes closed, but one of his eyebrows was raised.

"This is a pointless argument any way." Lina decided after she patted her stomach in happiness. "So how much do you reckon we have left to see Nexus? I don't know about everyone else but I'm about ready to move on from sitting on my ass all day and go out and take out some bandits."

"Well if I take in to account of all the distraction's that you people cause, we should be done sometime tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" Lina shouted in misery, "When you say that you mean early tomorrow, right?"

"I hope we can finish it all tomorrow anyway." He said sounding discouraged.

Lina screamed as she itched her head franticly. Zelgadis looked from her to Nexus and sighed, "If I felt confident that this would all help me, another day would be well worth the wait." He said as he shook his head.

"In any case," Xelloss announced gaining everyone's attention, "We're not going to get any closer to the end unless we sit and bare through it."

"Mr. Xelloss is right, let's try and get as much as we can do tonight, then have an early start in the morning." Amelia replied.

They all quickly made their ways to the sitting room, which was dim aside from the glow of the fireplace. The atmosphere caused Filia to feel rather sleepy, as she sat on the end of the couch beside Gourry. She rested her head on the side of the couch as she stared at the wall. Why was she feeling so sleepy, and why is what Gourry saying bothering her. Truth be told, she doesn't know what she would do. If there ever was a reason for the annoying priest to need to be saved, what would her reaction or reflex be?

As a dragon, it would be looked down on her if she went out of her way to save him, especially since Xelloss killed so many of her kin. But wouldn't the same be said for a Mazoku? And if so, Xelloss has already broke that unspoken law, twice before. Both during when they were dealing with the whole Darkstar fiasco.

Her stomach gurgled as she unconsciously moved her hand to it. _Damn, _she thought._ I didn't eat again._

Xelloss decided to float in the air beside Filia, with his legs crossed as he munched on some kind of crunchy treat. He smiled with his eyes closed as he munched loudly. This began to annoy Filia as she turned her head to him.

"Could you eat a little louder?" she asked him sarcastically as she glared at him. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at her calmly, before he pushed the treat toward her.

"If you think that you could eat this more quietly then by all means, show me." He challenged as he kept her focus. Filia raised her eyebrow at the challenge and made a smug face. "With all the racket you were making, even Lina could eat it quieter then you." She replied as she grabbed a hand full of the snack, and threw it in her mouth.

Crunch Crunch Crunch

In her defense, she was quieter then he was, but at that moment, she really didn't care. The flavors of the treat filled her mouth with many new sensations. It went from salty to sweet. It was a mix of some sort, with soft chewy pieces and crunchy hard pieces. It was rather tasty.

Without much though, she began to eat more of the snack, as the screen came to life, completely forgetting Xelloss, as she continued to eat the mix.

Xelloss watched over her as he smiled, then turned to the screen as well, hoping that she would eat the whole bowl.

_Filia continued to brush her hair as she tried to decide how she wanted to do her hair. If she wanted to leave her hair down, even with her extra height from the boots she was currently wearing, the hair would still barley touched the ground. She looked at her dress, and decided it would look best if her hair was down._

_Swiftly, she pulled the hair that was close to her scalp, and twisted it causing it to form a small bump on the back of her head, then she tied it, giving her head a fuller look. Then he added three other hair ties in larger groups down the long length, causing it to shorten to about her calf. Satisfied, she took half of her bangs and braided them in to the pony tail on both sides of her head. The she let the rest hang in their usual place. While she was admiring her work, there was a light knock on her door._

_She opened the door, and a royal guard bowed down to her, and behind him stood Daemon. "Miss Filia, I will be taking you to dinner now if you are prepared."_

_She nodded her head and stepped out in to the hallway._

_The royal servant escorted Filia and Daemon toward the dining hall. Filia noticed that Daemon too had changed his wardrobe. He seemed rather fond of the black color scheme though. He now wore a pair of finely tailored black slacks, and a pressed black shirt, with the cuff's rolled up. He even had his shirt tucked in, she giggled as she observed._

"_Miss Filia, and Sir Daemon." the guard announced when they arrived to the dining hall, as the both stepped in to the room. _

_The table was rather large that sat in the middle of the room. The room it's self was large, and to the right were four large windows looking over the mass kingdom. The light from the day spread across the room accenting the colors of the décor. _

_Four unknown figures gazed up at them, as they entered the room. At the head of the table, sat a rather large man. To his left was a younger boy, and to his right, was a young woman. Beside both were little girls, who appeared to be twins. They each stood as the guard led Filia to a seat beside one of the little girls, as Daemon took the seat across from her. _

_They all sat, except the bulky man at the end of the table. He smiled widely as he looked down at the guest, and then opened his arms wide._

"_Welcome travelers!" He shouted gleefully as he looked over the two of them. "Welcome to my wonderful kingdom of Seyruun!"_

_Filia looked over this man curiously as she smiled pleasantly back at him. He was rather large, but she didn't think that he was taller than Daemon, though he could be bulkier. He had medium length light blue hair and wide bushy blue eyebrows that hung over his golden toffee colored eyes, which were staring at them kindly. There was a small amount of stubble on his chin, but he still had the look of a young man, and his face was quite beautiful._

"_I am King Dorian Wil Eldoran Seyruun," He introduced as he gave them a small bow._

"_What an honor to meet you eminence." Daemon replied as he gave a small bow as well, "I am Daemon, and this is my comrade, Filia Ul Copt." _

_Filia gave a little bow as well. He smiled at both of them before he took his seat. A servant came around and poured a dark red liquid in to each of their glasses then quickly excused himself. Filia looked at it causally, curious if it was wine. She wasn't much of a wine drinker._

_Dorian took a small sip of the drink then looked over Filia for a moment then smiled. "Nothing ever beats cranberry juice before a meal!" He winked at her. Smiling her also took a drink, as the tart taste washed over her mouth. _

"_It has a rather pleasant taste." She replied back smiling._

"_I think it's too bitter." The tiny girl beside Daemon replied, as she made a sour face. She had dark violet hair that was held in two pigtails on both sides of her face. She too had light toffee colored eyes, as she looked over to her twin, awaiting her opinion._

_The girl beside Filia, had the same face and eyes, but her hair was cut in a short fashion, that was longer in the front. She took a sip of her drink, and replied, "I think it taste good."_

_Dorian laughed as he looked down at the two girls. "Miss Filia, these are my younger siblings. The young lady beside you, is Christen," He pointed to the short haired girl, and then pointed to the one beside Daemon, "And that is Maria."_

_Filia bowed again and replied to the younger girls, "A pleasure to meet you, princesses."_

_Dorian then placed his large hands on the two sitting beside him. "To the right of my, is Lucillia, and to my left is Leonidas." He replied._

"_But they don't like to be called that." Maria said quickly smiling up at Filia._

"_We just call them Luci and Leo." Christen finished._

"_I will remember that." Filia smiled to the tiny princess, and then turned her gaze to the older siblings. "An honor to meet you both."_

_Luci seemed uninterested in the guest, as she looked over her book at the table. She seemed to be the oldest next to Dorian. She had long lavender hair that was held in a high ponytail, as spiky bangs covered her right eye. Her eyes were green as the flicked over her book. Across from her, Leo looked at Filia with annoyance, as he crossed his arms. He had black hair that also framed his face like his brother. His royal blue eyes looked at her suspiciously._

"_What do you Dragons want with Seyruun?" Leo asked her bluntly. This took Filia aback slightly, till Luci snapped her eye at Leo. "Leo, enough."_

_Leo just clicked his tongue and turned his glare to the wall. Filia curiously looked around and noticed they each seemed on edge. Perhaps, maybe even, afraid._

"_It seems Sir Pingleton is rather late." Daemon brought up, clearing the awkward silence that fell over the room._

"_Oh that old bird, it seems he was called elsewhere at the moment" Dorian replied happily, then turned his look on Filia once more. "He was the one who informed me of your arrival. He said you informed the guard at the gate you wished to have a peaceful negotiation with me." He said to her. _

"_That is correct your highness." She replied._

_A few servants appeared carrying plates of food in the room and sat them down in front of each at the table. It appeared to be some kind of chicken dish._

"_Pardon me, you see we do not entertain Dragons often, so we are a little uninformed on what kinds of cuisine Dragons prefer. I hope you find Chicken to your liking." He offered._

"_Chicken is fine." Filia blushed. He didn't need to go so out of his way for guest he hardly even knew._

_Everyone silently began to eat, and Filia followed suit and tried her own dish. As she did, she received a haunted glance from Leo. She looked up at him in mid chew curious what was on his mind. After she swallowed she asked, "Is something the matter Prince Leo?"_

_He looked at her in fear and quietly replied, "You're a cannibal."_

_Filia's eyes widened in fear, confused by what he meant by the statement. Daemon also stopped eating and looked up at the young prince._

"_Leo, what are you talking about?" Dorian asked the smaller boy._

"_She ate chicken, isn't that in the same species or something?" He accused her._

"_Um," She replied feeling a little insulted, "No, the Dragon's and the Chicken are not related in any way."_

_Leo looked at her for a second then crossed his arms and looked away from her. "Whatever you say, bird lady."_

"_Leo!" Christen shouted in shock._

_The room grew silent again as they continued to eat their meals. Filia kept exchanging glances with Daemon as the waited for the King to bring up the negotiations that they both set out to inquire. _

_After the dinner was finished, Dorian excused the prince, and the princesses, and lead them in to the hall way._

"_Please excuse Leo, I think he is still in mourning over our late father, and this acting out is one way for him to express himself." Dorian explained as he walked with the two dragons. _

"_That's alright." Filia replied to him. "Young boys are like that sometimes." She smiled thinking of Val's younger days._

"_I hope I have not stalled you for too long." Dorian said. "I understand you needed to speak with me, but I would have rather not gotten in to it with my younger siblings around."_

"_That was a wise decision." Daemon replied as he followed behind them._

_They reached a small study, and entered inside it. It was a large room filled with many books, and a few lazy boy chairs. They each took a seat, as a cart with tea was brought in. After the Tea was distributed, the servant closed the door behind him leaving them all._

"_Now, Miss Filia, Sir Daemon, what is it that has brought you to my kingdom?" Dorian asked them after taking a swift drink of his Tea._

"_Sir, we believe, that barrier of Seyruun has fallen." Daemon spoke up. Dorian looked at him confused then replied, "That is not possible."_

"_Are you certain?" Filia asked as she also sipped her tea._

"_Very. You see, the knowledge of the barrier is one thing that is passed down from the royal family, and has been for many centuries. Therefore, I would know how to tell if the barrier has been taken down." He replied as he looked on to them both._

"_It has come to our attention, that a Mazoku could be in disguise, and planning something in Seyruun."Daemon stated, taking a different approach._

_Dorian looked at him then to Filia, and sat his cup down. He stood and looked out his large window toward the city. _

"_Is that why you two have been sent here then?" He asked. "Are you here to protect the city of Seyruun?"_

"_Our master wishes for us to confide that the barrier is indeed still intact, and if so, we are suppose to be investigating Mazoku activity in the city." Daemon replied._

"_Is there anything you can tell us about the barrier of Seyruun?" Filia asked him._

"_I could, but you might be surprised by what you hear." He replied. As he looked out to the city, and pointed at a large structure close by._

"_You see that building there?" He asked._

_Filia and Daemon turned their heads to look at what he was pointing at. It was a building made of only white stone, and in front of the building, was a large statue of a Dragon._

"_Is that, the temple of Cepheid?" Filia asked._

"_Your correct, Miss Filia." Dorian replied. "You see, many years ago, Queen Amelia used the statue, which was made to amplify a white magic spell, to surround Seyruun by a protective charm, as long as the statue remained intact. The Statue is not only in homage to the Lord Cepheid, but a protection to the city it's self, so in other words, we would know if the spell would have died out." He told them._

"_Then tell me this, do you know anything about the spell it's self?" daemon asked him._

"_Of course, the spell is to send out a frequency." He replied as he looked them over with his toffee colored eyes. "Of what harms monsters most."_

"_But then what coul-" Filia began to ask then stopped in fear. _

_No._

_But then, it would be something Miss Amelia would have thought to do wouldn't it, She thought to herself. Miss Amelia knew of one tactic to resort to when dealing with Monsters._

"_This frequency, it wouldn't happen to be feelings would it?" Filia asked._

"_You hit the answer right on the nose Miss Filia." Dorian said happily. "The protection is that the city is surrounded by is the happiness of Queen Amelia, and the love she felt for Seyruun. So in other words, Her happiness and the feelings of love is what protects Seyruun from the monsters."_

_Filia's eyes widened as she looked at Daemon. That was how Elias was able to enter Seyruun. He, along with Kurokei knew how to feed off of negative and positive emotions._

_With that information, Filia became certain that there was something dark lurking in Seyruun, and the city was no longer safe. _

Authors Note- Phew, this was a hard chapter to get though. I had to rewrite it a couple times, and unfortunately it lost some of its original humor and more info on the Seyruun Royal family. From now on, this story is going to be getting rather dark. I hope everyone can bear through it with me. Thanks' all. And I will try to get a new chapter up for Thanksgiving!


	24. The Calm Before The Storm!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Here is your present, a new chapter!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 24 – The Calm Before The Storm?**

"_So you are saying the barrier is made up of positive feelings." Filia confirmed with Dorian as she took another sip of her tea._

"_Affirmative. That is how we have been able to keep the Monster race out of Seyruun for so long. The strongest weapon humans have against monsters is the most honest, pure positive emotions we are able to carry in our hearts. This can weaken even the strongest of monsters." Dorian replied to her as he moved a strand of light blue hair out of his eyes._

"_And the only way the barrier could have been taken down is the destruction of the Statue of Cepheid, which amplifies the power of the spell." Daemon quoted._

"_That is the gist of it." Dorian offered as he scratched his chin. "So an attack by a monster is rather unpractical."_

_Filia looked at Daemon wondering what they were to tell him. Daemon appeared to be in a deep thought about what they were just told, and Filia assumed he had contacted Zelas telepathically to inform her of the news right away. No doubt, this all was bad for Seyruun. But they had no clue._

_The king didn't realize how exceedingly wrong he was. There were monsters in the world that have learned to accept positive feelings, and even learn to feed off them as regular Monster feed off negative emotions. For the barrier to be made of positive feelings, it would only be a matter of time before the monsters learned of its weakness. The kingdom was no longer safe. But, under Zelas, who was a monster, Filia only had the choice of following what she wished or turn against her. Would she turn this information over to other monsters, and over take the kingdom? Or would she just keep this information quiet._

"_I think it is time it told you something." Dorian replied, as he looked over Filia with bright eyes. She looked him over confused as she nodded her head to go on. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, old looking piece of parchment, and handed it to her._

_One look at what was on the paper, caused tears to well in her eyes. She then held the item closely to her heart._

"_I knew the moment I saw you, you were the Dragon in this photo." He replied as he smiled at her. "You must have known Queen Amelia well."_

_Filia looked down at the aged wedding picture that was taken so many years ago. She had no photographs of any of her old friends, so only the memories in her head left the imprint of them in her mind. She giggled as she looked over them all. Even Xelloss was dragged in to the shot, though from the glare she was giving him, it was plain to tell they were still in their hateful but implacable tension stage. He seemed to be putting up a front, but it appeared they had exchanged words before the photo was taken, and set each other off._

_She smiled as she scanned over the old picture, remembering the day as best she could. It seemed such a long time ago. Lina and Gourry, both always so lively, and Amelia and Zel too were in the photo. So many other familiar faces filled the picture, as they smiled up at her._

_There was a soft cough from her left, as she turned to look at Daemon who was looking over her curiously. She had forgotten herself for a moment. Quickly she straightened her back and tried to hand Dorian the aged photo back to the prince._

_He smiled as he took it, and placed it in a protective frame, then handed it back to her. "I think you should keep it. It appears this means a lot to you."_

_Filia smiled as she took the picture back from him and held it close. "Thank you." He gave her a warm smile back, and then turned his expression solemn._

"_There must be a reason you come baring questions about Seyruun's barrier. So then, what other reasons have you entered Seyruun?" He asked them._

"_King Dorian, we have reason to believe a highly dangerous Mazoku in disguise has been to visit you, and is in the midst of plotting to advance on Seyruun." Daemon replied to the king._

_Advance on Seyruun? Filia thought. Was that something he had made up, or was that information Zelas didn't care to share with her?_

"_A Mazoku you say?" Dorian thought out loud as he began to rub his stubble. "I haven't met anybody strange as of yet, but- ah there is one thing. The royal family of Zoana is due for a visit, could that be a possibility?"_

"_No, we have comrades of ours following them, and keeping a close watch on them."_

"_Well then perhaps we should just stay for the time being, as an extra security." Filia replied._

_There was a quick knock on the door, and then a guard let himself in to the study. He gave a quick bow the stated, "My Lord, there are two new guest that has arrived in the Throne Room. The say it is urgent that you, and your guest to meet them there." He replied._

"_Thank you Kashim." Dorian dismissed as he stood up and turned his gaze back on Filia and Daemon. "Perhaps this is who you were waiting for?"_

_Filia's heart skipped a beat. What if it was Val, and Xelloss? Had Zelas already informed them of the weakness of the barrier and now she would be reunited with them at last? She stood quickly, eager to head down to the Throne Room._

"Oh the buildup is setting a fire inside my soul!" Amelia shouted excitedly as she glued her eyes to the screen. "What will the Ally's of Justice do to save the kingdom of Seyruun? Will there be an epic battle with a victory for the good? Or will Seyruun solve things with peaceful negotiations which will gain Seyruun a new formable Ally?"

"You shouldn't be so excited about the possibility of war, Amelia." Zelgadis said as he looked over the tiny Princess.

"But mister Zelgadis, it's so-" She paused and gave him an excited thumbs up, "Wonderfully dramatic."

Zelgadis sighed as he shook his head. When she got like this, there was no reasoning with her. If Seyruun were to for some reason ever had a fan club, Amelia would have been its number one fan girl. He looked at her once more, as a light blush betrayed him as she smiled back sweetly at him.

Well, nobody ever said that being passionate was a bad thing.

"I can't believe what a powerful spell you casted on the kingdom Amelia." Lina praised as she slapped Amelia hard on the back.

"Gah- Miss Lina, do you really have to hit so hard?" Amelia whined, as she squinted up at Lina in pain.

"What?" Lina asked as she cleaned her ears out, ignoring her, causing Amelia to sigh at the lost cause. Gourry looked over the two girls and sighed. "Hey Lina." He asked drawling her attention. "I never saw Amelia cast any spell, what are you guys talking about?"

Lina looked at him for a moment then before she could reply with violence, Filia butted in.

"Miss Amelia, from the futures past, which is our Amelia from the present's future, casted a spell to protect the city of Seyruun from monsters. This was an amazing spell that lasted over 900 years." She explained to him. "Understand?"

Gourry looked like he had turned to stone as he stared at her blankly. "Uh, maybe I shouldn't have asked."

"Filia, even I would have trouble deciphering that if I didn't know what was going on." Lina replied looking at the dragon skeptically.

"Trust the dragons to always overly complicate things." Mocked Xelloss as he floated beside Filia.

She turned her stern gaze at him and narrowed her eyes. "That's coming from a grown man wearing a yellow turtleneck."

He just laughed at her without saying anything, which caused her to get even angrier, as she threw her empty snack bowl at him.

Xelloss dodged the bowl effortlessly and cracked an eye at her. "Oh dear Filia, why are you always throwing things at me? That bowl, your mace, yourself-" he laughed as he felt her anger spike.

"I DO NOTHING OF THE SORT!" She shouted at him, rising up on the couch reaching his eye level. "Maybe that is what you want to see." She spat at him.

"Is that what you tell yourself to make it if feel alright?" He asked her, looking sad, then reached over and patted her on the shoulder causing her to stiffen and become even more outraged. "Poor Filia, how warped your mind must be."

Filia let out a loud scream, then began to glow gold, as she began to transform out of pure rage. Zelgadis, who was prepared for such an outburst, quickly splashed water on the two. Filia immediately stopped transforming as she looked up, dripping wet, looking confused. Xelloss, looked a little more upset then confused, but instantly dried himself before sending a dark look at Zelgadis.

"Now really, that was quite rude."

"Well then think before you provoke." Zelgadis glared back at the Monster, who decided to stick his tongue out at the chimera. "Boo Hoo killjoy."

Suddenly, Filia snapped her head to look behind her, her wet hair slapping Xelloss in the face as she turned to look behind the couch, causing everyone to give her curious looks. "What is it Filia?" Lina asked her as she looked behind as well.

"I thought, I heard a-" she paused as she realized nobody was behind them. "Laugh."

Everyone looked behind her but saw no one.

"Are we ready to continue?" Nexus asked sounding slightly. "I'm sure you're all getting tired; let's try to finish up as much as we can tonight so we can finish tomorrow. Only a few more minutes."

They each returned there gaze back to the screen, even Filia, who gave one last glance behind her.

She could have sworn she heard a short, but real laugh. As she watched her future self walking down toward the Throne Room, Filia crossed her arms in deep thought.

_Filia walked a little faster as they reached the throne room, and when they walked inside, she felt a small ping of despair. It was neither Val, nor Xelloss. But at least it was someone she knew._

_Filia ran in to the room past Dorian and Daemon as she came close to a weak Red head that was next to a younger girl with curly red hair._

"_Dexi, what has happened to you?" She asked the Mazoku in concern. She looked bad, weak and tired. Her short red hair was shining under the lights of the room, and as she turned her dark haunting eyes to her, looking weak and tormented._

"_Hello Filia." She replied weakly. Filia stared the monster in confusion. She looked very lethargic, almost like gravity was pushing her closer to the ground. _

"_Dexi, what are you doing here, are you with Val?" Filia asked her looking around._

"_No, Val isn't here." Dexi moaned._

"_Then what is wron-" Filia blinked as she stared down at her. She was weak, and has no energy. Of course. "The Seyruun barrier."_

_"Exactly." The red-head replied. "It's a lot worse than I ever imagined. Like a symphony of positive energy."_

"_What are you doing here?" Filia asked, turning her gaze and finally looking up at the young girl with the monster. She was rather short, and had curly red hair. Her calm celadon eyes looked at Filia as she held Dexi up underneath her arms._

"_She has been protecting me." She replied, and then looked down at the weak monster. "She saved my life."_

"_Dexi, Lord Zelas wishes you to return to her immediately." Daemon said as he walked up to the suffering Monster. "You have completed your mission."_

_Dexi nodded her head, and gave a short goodbye then Daemon and Filia before she phased her away without a word._

"_Um, could I ask what is going on?" Dorian asked as he looked down at the tiny girl in front of him._

"_I like to know that as well." Filia replied keeping suspicious gaze on Daemon._

"_Perhaps we should move to a more, comfortable room?" Dorian replied, feeling that this would take some time explaining. "Perhaps over tea and sweets?"_

"_Hold the sweets, could you prepare a meal?" The red head commanded. This caused Filia and Dorian to be taken back._

"_I haven't eaten in over two days." She explained, trying to sound humble._

"_Of course." Dorian smiled at her. "Follow me miss-"_

"_It's Thalia. Thalia Zoana Rei Navratilova." She announced._

"_As in princess Thalia?" Dorian asked looking shocked as a small blush crossed his face as he looked down at the girl again._

"_That's right. I am the youngest child of King Gerald Zoana Lin Navratilova and Queen Leila Zoana Ilsa Navratilova."_

"_Gah!" Filia shouted as she looked down at her. "I met your parents."_

_Thalia's eyes narrowed as she looked at Filia. "Oh really, when was this?"_

"_I departed from the just last night." Filia replied. "They were enslaved in a human ranch in the Kataart Mountains, before me and my companion released them, and all the other prisoners."_

"_Is that the truth?" Thalia asked looking doubtful. She too looked rather weak, probably due to lack of substance._

"_Perhaps we should get Princess Thalia that food she wished?" Dorian asked, distracting both of the girls. Nodding, they were lead to a smaller room where a small feast was laid out for the princess._

_Thalia's eyes grew big as she looked over all of the foods, a hint of madness in her eyes. She quickly sat down, placed her napkin on her lap and began to eat. She used her fork and knife skillfully as she ate with complete manners. Filia stared at her in shock._

"_Miss, If you are hungry, then eat. There is no need for you to try and impress us with you amazing etiquette." Dorian comforted her._

_Thalia looked up at him for a moment, and hesitated. Then after that tiny falter, in one swift movement she threw here silverware down and began to grab everything in sight. She ate so fast, Filia swore she saw the princess grab the gravy boat and pour the contents straight in her mouth._

_When she was done being a dinner terrorist, all the food was gone, and she quickly wiped her mouth clean. Then she turned to the king, placing her feet together and placed her hands over her thighs, and then gave him a deep bow._

"_I owe you much gratitude, and I thank you for your kindness." She said, as she remained bowing._

_Dorian looked down at her in shock then smiled back at her kindly. "It's not a problem."_

_They each quickly then retreated back to Dorian's study to discus Thalia and her expeditious arrival. Daemon also returned from escorting Dexi to Wolfpack Island._

"_Well then Miss Thalia, how is it you came to this kingdom?" Daemon asked her._

"_Well the short version of the story is that I ended up trusting a monster that was only out to take advantage of me and my brother's power. He disguised himself as a traveling scholar and convinced me and my brother he had a way of defeating monsters so they no longer pose a threat. You see my brother had found a certain mixture that would amplify his powers, and that mixture was a certain type of paint." She pointed out. "The monster then showed him how to use the paint to do magic. After sometime he created a seal for monsters to block out all of their powers."_

"_Something like that would help the human race greatly." Dorian replied. "So why would a monster just give away information like that?"_

"_Well it was all an elaborated trap to capture another monster. From what I witnessed, Elias knew that somebody would come poking around after they found out that my brother was the one to place the spell. And sure enough one did." She said._

"_So you have encountered Elias as well." Daemon replied pushing her onward._

"_And the man was Xelloss who came poking around." Filia added._

"_That is correct. After he arrived, Elias demanded to meet with him immediately. When they did meet, it was a huge trap to capture him. That is when Dexi arrived; she and I were taken to this city and being kept as hostages. I do not know what they were going to do with us, but as soon as we arrived Dexi began severely weak. She couldn't phase out, or escape. She and I kept each other company till her master told her to come here. We escaped from our confinement and came straight here."_

"_I see, so Lord Zelas has been in contact with Dexi this whole time, and that was the urgency to find out about the barrier. It doesn't kill but it can severely weaken those that can't feed off positive emotions. Dexi never really needed to learn that so I can see how she could have been affected by it." Filia thought out._

"_Yes, there was nothing I could do for her. She was so kind to me, when she could have just escaped; she stayed by my side to make sure I was safe." Thalia spoke out feeling grateful. "That is three monsters that have gotten hurt because of me."_

"_Three?" Daemon asked her._

"_Yes, there is Dexi, the monster my brother put the curse on, and Mr. Xelloss."_

"_Oh, Xelloss is fine." Filia replied to her. "He is actually traveling with your family right now on their way to Seyruun."_

"_Why would they be traveling to Seyruun?" Thalia asked as she looked up at Filia confused._

"_When Dexi told Lord Zelas where you were, she informed Xelloss to tell your family where you were." Daemon told her._

"_So my mother and father really have returned?" She asked, her eyes growing watery._

"_Yes they have." Filia smiled down at her._

_Thalia rubbed her eyes with her sleeve as she sniffed back her tears. "It's just, they were taken away when I was only one, so I've never met them."_

"_Well you can meet them tomorrow. They will be arriving in the morning." Daemon replied._

"_Then perhaps we should call this a night, you must be tired, and wishing to change your clothes and what not." Dorian said as he turned to his guard. "Please escort Princess Thalia to her sleeping chambers."_

_After a quick good night, even Filia returned to her bed room where she placed the photo of all her friends beside her bed, and smiled down at it._

_Tomorrow. She would finally see Val and Xelloss tomorrow._

"Yaaaawn." Lina released as she stretched. "Is it time for bed now?" She asked as she cracked her back.

"Yes, this is the perfect stopping point. Everyone please have a good night." Nexus replied.

Everyone quietly went to their assigned rooms to quickly go to sleep. After a long time in the knight, when Nexus knew that Filia was asleep, he spoke out knowing only _SHE _could hear him.

"You let your guard down today. That surprised me." He stated.

After a brief silence, a soft voice replied back to him. "I don't know what came over me. I never laugh out like that." It replied.

"What exactly did you find so amusing?" the book asked.

"Them, they are so wrapped up in the difference in their races that they see past the denial that hides their true feelings for each other. It will probably be a long time before they can see each other the way they do in the future."

"Well yes, it will be another three hundred years before that will happen." Nexus replied bitterly.

"You can't stand that can you?" The voice asked in a mocked voice. "Poor you."

"Yes well, it will all be over tomorrow. We are very close now to the ending you wished to see, and are you prepared at all for that?" Nexus asked her.

"If you are suggesting I am going to back out of my part of the deal, then you are gravely mistaken. What about you, I am not the only one risking everything for the desired outcome. Are you sure you are certain of your part in all this, this time?"

Nexus remained silent for a moment then finally replied. "Yes, I am prepared for my sacrifice; it's what is best for her."

"It is best for everyone." The voice said, and then spoke no more.


	25. A Rather Racy Morning!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Haul Out The Holly! Pull Out The Tree Before My Spirit Falls Again!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_Author's Note: I am sorry if my gutter of a mind offends anyone. Since the next chapter is only going to take place in the future, I thought I would have a chapter of JUST the present characters to balance it out. He-he. I had too much fun with this one . . . FANSERVICE!_

**Chapter 25 – A Rather Racy Morning? **

Morning came too quickly for the Slayers, aside from the sleepless Xelloss. One by one they began to file in to the kitchen to await their breakfast.

"Nice jammies, Zel." Lina yawned with less sarcasm then usual as she over looked Zel's rabbit printed pajama pants and plain white t-shirt.

"Hey, they were the only ones provided; Nexus must have a sick sense of humor." The chimera blushed angrily. "Besides, what is up with yours?" He asked as he poured his French vanilla espresso in his carrot decorated tea cup.

Lina had forgotten what she wore to bed the night before and blushed when she looked down. Her nightwear only consisted of a light pink chemise top, and a pair of female boxer shorts with horse shoes on them.

"I think you look cute." Gourry commented as he yawned.

"No one asked you, Jellyfish!" Lina screamed, now fully awake and blushing like mad.

"I know right, I think I'm going to keep them!" Gourry said delighted as he looked over his dark blue sweatpants, and his light blue sleeveless top with several jellyfish on the chest. Lina looked over his attire for a moment and noticed the way the clothes accented his good features, and then turned her head in embarrassment. "No, I think that's a bad plan."

"But miss Lina I too love my pajamas. Can't we please keep them?" Amelia asked looking at the red head hopeful. Lina turned a skeptical eye on to the princess, and almost fell out of her chair. Amelia's nightwear was a lavender camisole top that had white satin straps that connected the rather low cut back to the front, and ended neatly in a tiny bow, along with a pair of white shorts. There were two accenting lavender satin bows on the sides of her shorts, and printed across the whole set was black star's. But all that seemed to go unnoticed because of the low cut of the top that showed off Amelia's well endowed bosom.

"NO! DEFENTLY NOT!" Lina shouted in a bitter rage, refusing the girls request.

"Such unpleasant and loud frequencies so early in the morning." Xelloss whined as he walked in to the room where the four sat as he pretended to be tired. "No wonder I can't get any sleep." He pouted.

"Xelloss, you're a monster, YOU DON'T SLEEP!" Lina shouted to the monster as she turned to give him his 'good morning glare' before she froze in terror. "Xelloss," She gulped. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Xelloss smiled up at her as if he found nothing wrong with the situation. "What are you talking about Miss Lina, are we not having a pajama party?"

"Xelloss, you don't wear- no scratch that, Xelloss you shouldn't wear pajamas. It's frightening." Lina expressed as she looked over the strange priest attire. He wore a simple green plaid nightshirt, and matching shorts. It wouldn't have looked so bad, if it wasn't for the gross, giant frog shaped slippers attached to his feet.

"Looking good Xelloss." Gourry commented as he poured orange juice in to his cup.

"Thanks Gourry!" Xelloss grinned as he triumphantly scooted to an empty seat.

"Filia should be out soon, so uh-" Lina began as she looked down at the book on the table, "How about that food eh Nexus?"

"Humans." Nexus said distastefully as many breakfast dishes appeared on the table. Lina gave out a gleeful shriek and began to feast. Gourry happily followed, after giving her an admiring smile.

Amelia smiled as she looked over Zelgadis and sweetly asked, "Mister Zelgadis, could you pass me the strawberry jam?"

Zelgadis quickly grabbed the jar and turned to Amelia, and then immediately turned his head blushing as he handed the princess her jam. She looked up at him curiously as she began to spread it over her bagel.

"Is something the matter Mister Zelgadis?" she asked concerned, layering cream cheese on top of the opposite bagel.

"No, nothing." He replied as he took a sip of his espresso.

"He is probably affected by your current attire Amelia." Lina taunted as she plopped two cream puffs in her mouth, causing Zelgadis to spray the liquid that was just occupying his mouth.

"L-Lina?" He yelled in rage. "That is ridiculous!"

"So, you don't like my pajamas?" Amelia asked as she looked up at him sadly.

Zelgadis groaned as turned to her and gave her the most painless smile, using all his determination and willpower keeping his eyes focused on her. . face.

"You look fine. It's unusual for everyone to see everybody in different clothes." He reasoned.

"That's true, were always wearing the same clothes." Lina said thoughtfully as she dipped toast in to her spilled egg yolk.

"Well it's easier on the animators that way." Gourry replied as he began to chew on bacon.

"Gourry, were not suppose to bring that up!" Lina grumbled as she clutched her fist.

"Bring what up?" Filia asked as she walked in to the room. She yawned quietly then looked down at all of them as they stared up at her. Her face turned guarded as they all stared at her.

"W-what?" She asked as she turned to look behind her confirming they weren't staring at something from behind.

Xelloss quickly stood up and pulled a chair out beside him and said, "Here Filia, you can sit by ME!" He smiled widely at the confused dragon.

Filia looked at him curiously, not quite trusting him, but since that was the only seat available she reluctantly complied. As she walked, her long sheer nightgown flowed behind her. The hem ended past her knees, and was a pleasant light yellow color. It had a deep V neckline, showing more than they had ever seen. It was covered by a sheer robe of the same color.

"I feel rather inadequate." Amelia pouted as she sighed, as Lina banged her head on the table.

Filia blinked at the strange behaviors of everyone at the table. Did she do something to offend them? Deciding to just act like nothing happened, she hesitantly tried a peach pancake that was in front of her that was covered in a fluffy cream, and found to her surprise that she quite enjoyed them. She smiled as she finally seemed to win the battle against her abnormal loss of appetite. Lina and Amelia stared at the grinning Dragon as she happily ate her pancakes oblivious to their envy.

"Once you are all done eating, could we please move to the living room? We will be finishing the viewing today, and I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the outcome." Nexus said, sounding high-strung.

"Oh isn't it wonderful Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia said jumping up suddenly giving Zel an immediate heart attack. "Today could be the day you find your cure."

After recovering from the suddenly bouncy princess, he coughed trying to ignore his faint blush and replied, "We can only hope."

She patted him on the back in excited support, but unfortunately she damaged her hand in the process. "Ouch, oh gosh Mister Zelgadis, you're so hard." She whined as she held her hand in pain.

Unfortunately this was overkill for our stony friend as he fell back in his chair on to the floor. The worried and slightly oblivious Amelia looked over him in concern, as Xelloss chucked to himself.

"What are you laughing about?" Filia asked him guardedly as she looked over at him, not having noticed what went down, or in this situation, up with Zel and Amelia.

He turned his gaze on her, and it lingered longer then she felt comfortable with.

"What?" She asked as she looked at him angrily and nervously at the same time.

He smirked at her for a moment, then brought his hand to her chin, and slowly stroked his thumb across it. Filia froze as he did this, feeling uncomfortable as he invaded her personal space, and worried why he was acting so strange.

When he pulled his thumb back it was covered in an alien white fluff.

"You had cream on your face." He told her, as he licked it off his thumb and turned his smug glance back to his chocolate cheesecake muffin and mocha latte as the confused and disturbed Filia stared at him.

From across the table, the Gourry and Lina's speed eating had reached its all time high. Since they knew this was their last chance to eat all of the breakfast foods of the future, and Lina and Gourry were packing so much away, like they were trying to memorize every taste.

Unfortunately, when you're stabbing food in such a fast fashion with a knife and fork, you could end up missing the desired target.

"Ouch, Damn!" Lina shouted, as she swiftly stabbed the back of her hand with her fork. She quickly dropped her silverware in reflex, and brought her bleeding hand to her face observing the damage.

"Lina are you ok?" Gourry asked as he too threw his silverware down quickly and grabbed her hand with his own as he observed the punctures. Lina quickly flushed at his serious demeanor.

"It looks like it didn't go to deep in, but we should still pour some alcohol on it so it doesn't get infected." He said to her as he rose from his seat, still holding her hand. He quickly led her to the sink. He opened the cabinet doors searching for items to fix it, and was surprised to find everything he needed.

He quickly cleaned the blood from her hand and poured the alcohol on the wounds. It stung slightly, but Lina was too embarrassed at the treatment Gourry was giving her to notice. Then he wrapped her hand attentively, making sure it was tight enough to keep her hand safe, but not enough to make her uncomfortable.

As he tied the bandage on her hand he paused with her hand in his, as he stared down he appeared to be in deep thought.

"What's wrong?" Lina asked him, as he calmly looked over her hand. Brought his blue eyes up to her cherry ones and held them in a transfixed gaze as he smiled brightly at her.

"I just realized how tiny your hands are in mine."

She looked back down at her hands and realized this was true. His hands were much larger then hers, she would wager he could hide her whole hand in one fist. She shook her head wondering why she was thinking about that, as he finished up the bandage.

"How does that feel?" He asked as he looked down on her, looking apprehensively, as if he was either afraid she was unforgettable, or angry. She smiled at him, deciding to let him off the hook of embarrassing her just this once, after all, he did wrap it up for her.

"Hey it's pretty good Gourry, good job." She smiled, causing him to spread in to a goofy grin.

"Were you still hungry Lina?" He asked her looking over at the table they had left behind.

"Nu-uh. I'm good." She replied. After all, now that she had given her belly a short break, she realized how full she was.

"I guess I'll go change before we start watching that enchanted thingamajig." Gourry replied to her thoughtfully as he walked toward the boys' room to get ready for the day. Lina smiled after him as she walked over to the girls' doorway.

"Don't ever change Gourry."

After Amelia was absolutely positive that Zelgadis was alright, she joined Lina in the Girls room to also change into her day clothes. Filia finished a cup of Darjeeling tea, she rose to also change. When everyone was changed and fresh, they each gathered in the sitting room prepared to continue their viewing of the future.

Today, Lina decided to sit on the floor, sitting boldly in between Gourry's legs, beside Amelia who sat cross legged in front of Filia. Zelgadis sat beside Gourry, and Xelloss floated in the air behind them.

"Miss Lina what happened to your hand?" Amelia asked as she noticed her bandaged hand.

"Oh this, just a utensil malfunction."Lina laughed as she waved it off.

"Would you like me to heal it for you?" Amelia asked her looking it over in concern. "It would be simple."

"Ah, that's alright Amelia, I'm fine." Lina chuckled nervously then turned to the screen, smiling.

"Well then, is everyone ready to begin?" Nexus asked them from his place on the table.

"I am ready to be done." Lina voiced out grinning smugly. "I don't know about you guys but I am ready to get back into my old routine, right big guy?" She asked as she looked back at Gourry who smiled back down at her.

"Yeah, if I keep sitting around and eating, I'll get fat." He complained and as he patted his stomach.

"I look forward to seeing my daddy again-" Amelia said as she smiled brightly, thinking of Prince Phil in Seyruun, "and Mister Zelgadis happiness at the end of our journey."

Zelgadis smiled down at her as he looked forward.

"I miss Gravos, Jillias and Val." Filia said as she smiled at her companions. "Perhaps I will reward them with a vacation for taking care of Val's egg while I've been away." She smiled.

"Or you could give them a raise." Xelloss joked.

"Oh I've tried, the two of them are persistent in not even being paid for their help around the shop, but I told them I refused to let them help if I couldn't pay them." Filia replied.

"Do you think it would be safe for you to return to them Filia?" Gourry asked her suddenly.

"What do you mean Gourry?" Filia wondered as she stared at him confused.

"Well, now that you have Nexus, won't the monsters be after you and the knowledge or whatever inside the book?" He asked her.

Filia froze as the information he spoke began to sink in. She had been so blinded by what was in front of her, and what was happening in her far off future, she lost sight of what was in front of her. Would she be bringing unwanted trouble if she brought Nexus home with her? Xelloss undoubtedly has already informed his mistress she thought as she looked down at her knees, so the monster race is already in possession of the information of what has transpired in the last couple of days.

Xelloss frowned as feelings of worry and panic spread though Filia as she her brain went in to overdrive. Of course he couldn't refuse a meal; after all, she was his favorite breakfast.

"Oh, you have just realized this?" He taunted her, as he laughed. "One thing I love about the dragon race is they aren't too swift now are they?"

Filia clutched her fist as she ignored him.

"So then, if we are close to the end of the story, does that mean we are close to finding your true purpose of showing us this story?" Amelia asked Nexus.

"Everything will unravel very soon." He replied simply.

"Well that helps out a lot,-" Lina replied as she rolled her eyes. "Thank you captain vague."

"Alright enough." Nexus said irritably. "Filly, you needed not worry about the dangers of having me in your possessions, remember, I have see your future, and no conflict will arise until the beginning of the War of Severance." He reassured her. "Miss Lina, the outcome of my intentions will become painfully clear when we complete the story, so just be patient a little while longer."

"Ok, ok." Lina whined as she crossed her hands behind her head and rested. "Talking about it isn't getting us anywhere is it. Just start the stupid thing."

"Alright." Nexus replied. Quickly the drapes in the room began to fall from the windows that showed the flurries that fell from the outside, which causing the room to fill with darkness. The room was rather chilled, so Amelia and Lina both grabbed the fuzzy blankets that were provided for them. The fireplace roared to life as it slowly began to fill the room with heat.

"Now, we begin the end." Nexus said as the screen flickered to life, once more.

Authors Note: There Nightwear was a reference to Slayers NEXT. In episode 15 all the characters, (except for Filia) have to wear a costume which was Lina-Horse, Zel-Rabbit, Gourry-Jellyfish, Amelia- A Star, and Xelloss in a frog costume.


	26. Temple of Cepheid,A Fallen Angels Prayer

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But I do dictated there emotions and actions in this fic, mwahaha.

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_Author's note: This chapter focuses on Filia and her Faith. Of course this is fanfiction, so if you want to comment on your opinions of how I wrote it out, please try to remember that. I am not out to offend anyone . . 0.o_

**Chapter 26 – Temple of Cepheid, A Fallen Angels Prayer**

_Morning came, in silence. When Filia awoke, there was no movement or stirring in her room. It was as if time it's self was frozen. Her long pointed ears picked up no scurrying feet of servents, no soft breaths of pets or clicking of clocks. Even the morning birds were muted of their chirping as she stepped out of the comfort of sleep, and her awareness kicked in._

_It was because of the stillness of the room, she could not fall back asleep. Blinking her eyes, she settled them on the picture beside her bed. Smiling, she lifted herself out of the comfort of the soft mattress. Softly and silently, she stepped out of her bed and walked over to her window and pulled back the curtain._

_Darkness filled the world outside her room. It had not even reached dawn yet. As she turned to look back at her bed, and realized she would not be able to sleep any longer. She walked in to her bathroom, and washed her hair and got ready for the new day. Even after she had done this, the world outside remained dark, and still._

_Filia decided that she could not stay in her room any longer, and placed her white boots on as she made up her mind of what she wanted to do with her free time. Since Xelloss would be returning that morning she wanted to visit the temple of Cepheid before she was reunited with him and Val. She quietly stepped out of her room and made her way out of the palace._

_The hallways were bare, and she found it strange that no guards or servents were poking around getting things ready for the new day. How early was it? The night before, when she had finally laid down, the sun had only just set. She had been so tired from all that had happened yesterday, that sleep came to her faster than it had in a long time. She always had a hard time sleeping when Xelloss wasn't next to her. When he was with her, she felt safe, she felt secure._

'_When this is all over' she thought to herself, 'Zelas owes me and him a long vacation'_

_She smiled at herself knowing that of course would never happen. _

_As she walked, her dress flowed behind her gently. The clothes that were provided for her varied in many styles and this particular dress had been hidden between two others so she had not noticed it the day before. She had grown quite fond of it since she had put it on, and she even decided that she would ask King Dorian if she could purchase it from him._

_The dress its self was rather simple. It had a bateau neckline that extended shoulder to shoulder. The sleeves were lightweight, and traveled past her wrist, covering half of her hand. The hem reached past her shins, and flowed quietly as she walked. The dress was a white color that was so bright it almost gave a tint of blue, and it had a lacy design across the chest. At the waist of the dress, it flared out giving it an small A-line appearance. She tied a light grey ribbon in her hair, and had braided her hair and placed it over her left should so it would not drag on the ground._

_As she continued to leave the palace, she realized she had forgotten her mace. She paused thinking about returning to retrieve it, but then decided against it. She would just return after her visit to the temple and reclaim it._

_Even as she exited the building, she still saw no one. She found this odd, as she exited the palace. There weren't even guards at the gates. She began to feel uncomfortable as the world remained still. Seyruun felt like it was part of a void and she was the only thing that existed inside. No birds flew, no cats roamed, there was no running water or a steady beating of strangers foots steps. Only hers were heard over the silence. In a steady rhythm, as her heels hit the ground and lifted up till it fell to the earth again, in a synchronized beat. _

_When she finally reached the temple, she paused before she took the first step up toward where her destination lied. _

_She had wanted to return to this place for many years, and now, she felt like she would not be allowed to enter. She stared transfixed on the building before her, only lit by the fading moonlight. She had arrived at the temple of Cepheid, the temple for the Lord Cepheid and the four dragon kings. It was large, and tall. The temple was made of only white, as the Seyruun castle, and was surrounded by gardens and a few small ponds. _

_Slowly, she took the first step up the white stone. Felling almost breathless, she latched her warm hand around the cool handle of the old door, and pushed it in. The creak of the door gave her comfort in the all to still and silence, as she stepped inside the temple. Her steps echoed around the room as she began to make her way in to the sanctuary._

_The inside of the temple was kept clean, and tidy, she noticed as she walked through the entrance. It was a straight path to the main sanctuary, where she climbed another set of stairs in to the main room. When she finished ascending the stairs, she tried to memorize all that surrounded her._

_It was built in the theme of a circle, which is why the stairs that led up to the room entered in the middle of the room, and not on the sides. Around the walls, there were large windows in front of each altar, four in total around the room and one large one above. She silently walked in to the large room, which was dimly lit by the diminishing moonlight from outside, as it flooded through the blue and grey tinted windows. _

_Around the room, each of the four dragon gods had a separate alter. Then in the middle was placed the altar of Cepheid. The four altars around the room were arranged as so. First was the altar of Aqualord Ragradia, the water dragon king. Next to it then was the Earthlord Rangort, then Airlord Valwin._

_Finally, she stopped in front of the last altar, the one that belonged to Flarelord Vrabazard._

_Filia walked up to the statue of her previous lord, her face began to fall. She stared at the statue of him in silence as she tried to settle the confliction inside her, and speak the words she had wanted to say for many years._

_Soft light fell down on her from the tinted windows, as she removed her boots, and stepped on to his altar. She softly took a seat on the ground and looked up at the lord, and took a deep breath._

"_Flarelord Vrabazard, My name is Filia Ul Copt." She spoke quietly, as she looked up at the statue in front of her._

"_Many years ago, I was a priestess at your temple. Many years ago, I was raised by your teachings, and I lived to serve you, my lord."_

_She closed her eyes, as old memories began to fill her mind. _

"_Back then, I would have gladly have given my life for the purpose of what you stood for. Fire, means life, Fire means warmth, and Fire means passion. I grew holding you, and those teachings very close to my heart. I believed in you, and I believe in my people. Close I was kept to the temple, and I never wanted to leave the safety of the world of the Golden Dragons, and my lord, Flarelord Vrabazard."_

"_One day, you spoke to me. You told me a prophecy. Of that prophecy, my life began. Due to that, I left the comfort of my world in your temple, and ventured into the world to find those who the elders and I believed would help us through the upcoming catastrophe you had warned us about. That is when I met a human by the name of Lina Inverse." She spoke as she thought of the picture in her room._

"_Lina Inverse was the second human I had met, aside from the brief meeting with her sister. After spending time with her, I was appalled at how this human lead her life. She did not give her life up to the gods, she was spoiled, greedy, and very self centered. I judged her from the start."_

_Filia then opened her eyes at the statue in front of her, with a look of pride, as she remembered her beloved friend._

"_Due to my lack of outside contact, I was raised blindly by the people of your temple. I had never formed my own opinion on anything. I lived as I was told, and I thought as others thought. The elders had raised me to be deluded, and naive about the real world, and the people in it. I was raised to set myself above others, because I was a priestess of you, my lord."_

"_In the short time I was with Lina, I began to notice little things about myself I never realized. My love for pottery, the way I talked down on people, and the way I felt I was always right. Things I would have never realized if I stayed in the care of the temple. Then, I found out about the terrible betrayal of my people against the Ancient Dragons. Valgaav, the last remaining Dragon who was saved by the monsters showed me what true horrors your people had committed."_

"_After I learned of this deception, I severed my ties to the temple and to you." She said as her eyes began to harden. "And after that, I never received a prophecy from you again."_

"_Not only did Darkstar become defeated, but Val was granted a second chance at a new life, and I willing became his mother. I did not return to the temple, but instead remained in the world I had always been kept sheltered from. I stayed in touch with Lina, and all my comrades from the events of Darkstar till they each, one by one, began to pass on to the next life. Yet I still did not return to you."_

_She took another deep breath as she relaxed her body._

"_The events prior to my loss of faith came with another reality, the reality of monsters. My whole life, I was always taught of how bad they were, and it became such a part of me, that even my body would become enraged just by the presence of one. That is when I met him. Blinded by my upbringing and taught prejudices, I could never see him as anything more than a tool for evil, with no heart and no morals. With this mind set, I quickly felt above him, and judged him before I knew anything about him. Even when he saved my life, I felt like I owed him nothing because he was a monster and I concluded he saved me for some darker reason."_

"_It took a long time for me to grow out of my misplaced hate. Even if he did manipulate me, he never full out lied to me like my elders did. He never tried to shield me from the horrible truths of the world, or the darkness the was hidden in not only monsters, but humans and dragons too."_

"_So then, Lord Vrabazard, this is why I come to you today. This is the reason I have brought myself back to you over so many years. Clarification." She said as her eyes softened._

"_Turning against you was never my intent. It was the elder and the people of the Fire temple who betrayed me. Not you. When I left you, did you hate me? So many things followed me after I left the temple. But when the war of severance started, it was not you, or any of the dragon lords that saved me. When the humans, monsters, and dragons alike hunted me down due to malice and fear of my Val, you were not the one to forgive and protect me. It was Lord Zelas, of the monsters. Did you hate me even more when I began to live with the natural enemy of your people?"_

"_Sometimes, I felt that perhaps we just turned our backs on each other, or perhaps-" she paused as her eyes began to fill slowly with tears, "You turned your back on your people after what they did to the Ancient dragons."_

"_After that, you reached out to me, hoping I could live the life you wanted your people to live, to return to the way we were supposed to be. Did you have hopes for me? Did you want more from me than just to relay a prophecy? Are you the reason my Val came to me? I have had so many questions for you. What are your desires, and what are you wishes?" Tears began to fall down her checks now._

"_Did you feel betrayed as I did by what the dragons did so many years ago? Then the one you had hoped to fix all that was flawed in your people left you, in heart ache of the same actions that made you lose faith in your people in the first place. Then when I finally joined Xelloss, did you feel you lost me for good?"_

_Her eyes began to redden as she reached out and touched the statue of Vrabazard._

"_I love my family, I even love lord Zelas. The world is falling into chaos, and the only place I feel safe is with them. But-" she spoke as she held back a choke as her eyes began to flow heavily with her tears. "But, I still think about you my lord. Even thought I have no proof that you're watching me still, I worry about how you feel about me, and if you miss me like I miss you." _

_She took a moment to calm herself down. When her eyes had finally dried, and she felt in more control, she stood up next to the statue, and placed her hands over her heart as a symbol of a dragon's prayer._

"_Flarelord Vrabazard, I may have failed you, and even if I was fooled by your people from the start, I do not blame you for what has happened to me those many years ago. I still have faith in you, even though I do not live as member of the Fire Dragon Temple. I believe that someday, we can learn to forgive each other, and hopefully, one day, I can bring my daughter here to meet you, my lord."_

_She bowed her head to the sculptor, feeling freed from a heavy chain that held her down for many years, then slowly turned to return to the castle. What she saw when she turned paralyzed her, and filled her with a deep sensation of fear._

_Leaning against a pillar in the room stood a figure in the dark. He wore mainly black and dark blue, and his hands were covered by black gloves. He had dark blue spiky hair, that feel around his face in a mess, and a pair of blue haunting eyes that were covered by a pair of spectacles._

"_Hello Filly." He said deeply, then rose from his relaxed position and stepped out of the shadow and moved toward her. The dim lights from outside hit his familiar body as he slowly moved to her, and tasted her fear of him._

"_I didn't want to interrupt you." He said quietly as he reached her, standing tall above her with her lack of shoes, as he moved a strand of hair out of her face. "It seems you had some unfinished business with your god."_

_Filia stared at him in fear, the when she finally found her voice, she asked, "Why are you in this temple Kurokei?"_

"_I am more surprised you are not asking why, or how, I am in Seyruun. It seems you have already figured it out. You have always been too quick for your own good." He grinned as he continued to speak to her quietly. "If you must know, I came here to find you." He said as he looked over her brightened blue eyes, that were red from her tears._

"_Why would you be looking for me?" Filia asked him, slightly frightened and wishing she had brought her mace._

"_Do not fret Filia; I am not here to harm you." He comforted her. "I knew that you would come when I mentioned Dorian, but it seems my plan has fallen due to certain circumstances. You see Filia, I am confused." He said as he placed his hands on her shoulders._

"_When I started working for Elias, it was for different reasons. Back then, we were just trying to cause chaos, and eradicate the dragons. But after a couple years of that, and meeting you, I began to change my mind. Then, everything changed when Elias began to work with another man. Now, even if I wanted to return to Lord Zelas, I couldn't because I would be branded a traitor and killed, and unfortunately, I would rather live to flee another day."_

"_Why are you telling me this?" Filia asked him as she stared at him confused._

"_Your eyes, they glow you know." He murmured as he stared at her. "The contrast of the red in your eyes from crying causes them to look brighter. It's very alluring."_

_Something was wrong. Kurokei seemed to have an edge to his voice, as if he was worried about something and desperate too. Filia decided to fall silent, afraid of what was going to happen if she spoke, or tried to remove herself from his grasp._

"_When I tried to lure you here, I was hoping that I would be able to talk to you in private, in hopes of finding a way to let Lord Zelas allow me to return to her. That is no longer a possibility. After the escape of Dexi, Elias has decided to destroy Seyruun." He told her, as his hands tightened on her shoulders._

"_Filia, you have to return to Lord Zelas." He said as his eyes bore into hers. "You need to go as soon as possible. Due to the failure of yesterday, Elias WILL kill you if he see's you. You need to return home and protect that daughter of yours you love so much."_

_Filia's stared at him as his words flowed through her mind. The people of Seyruun were in danger, and she had little time to inform everyone. All the guard were missing, so who could she tell?_

"_I have to warn them." She spoke silently. "I can't just abandon them."_

"_Filia. You have to go home." Kurokei said, in an almost panic voice. "This is bigger then you realize. You will not be able to save them."_

"_But I have to try." She said unwavering. "I could never leave them. Even if I don't know them. They are helpless, and I could be their only chance."_

"_You don't understand." Kurokei moaned, not releasing her. "I risked so much to warn you, you have to leave as soon as you can." _

"_Kurokei, why would you do that?" She asked him._

_Kurokei stared at her, frozen by her words. The dim lights shone on her white dress, and sparkled off her golden hair that was paled by the lack of light. The brightest thing about her was her bright blue eyes that stared at him in confusion. _

_While these details filled his head, his fingers twitched as they held her in his grasp. Just as he was about to respond, he felt another Mazoku presence appear._

"_Ah, Kurokei, good job, it seems you have found her." Elias grinned as he appeared in the temple looking triumphant._

"Now then, how should I deal with you?" He asked as his grin turned from excited, to madness.


	27. La mort de Filia Ul Copt

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Madness, takes control.

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_**AUTHOR's NOTE:**__ This chapter is rather dark. Darker than anything else in this story. I hope I wrote it well enough to be believable. It was kinda hard for me to write, but for the story to go the way I planned, it was necessary. There is abuse, there is Violence. I'm sorry if this bothers anyone._

**Chapter 27 – La mort de Filia Ul Copt**

_Kurokei's fist stayed clutched on Filia's shoulders as he stared blankly at Elias. Filia didn't even notice the pressure of the monsters grip on her as she too stared at the blonde monster._

"_Well now, this is almost poetic." Elias grinned as he stepped toward her, waving his hand at Kurokei to release his hold on her, which reluctantly he did._

"_Here, dressed in white, you stand before your gods. And here, is where you will finally be laid to rest and return to them." He grinned as he grabbed her shoulders, and leaned down over her and softly whispered in her ear, "I am going to kill you."_

_Filia froze as he stood back and examined her. She didn't have much time to form a plan. If Kurokei fought, she would have no chance, and if he didn't she still didn't have much of a chance. Elias was old and powerful. Her only hope was to escape. _

"_Filia, I have hunted Dragons for such a long time," He stated as he began to circle her, tracing his finger around her shoulders as he spoke. "It has been somewhat of a hobby of mine. You see, not only do I like to end the life of a dragon, I like to keep a memento of them." He said as he paused behind her. She felt a gentle tug of her hair, as he took it in to his gloved hand._

"_Yes, being a golden dragon you have incredibly beautiful hair. The best thing about hair is that even over time it does not age. As soon as it leaves your scalp it is dead. If I kept your hair for a thousand years it would still be as bright and silky as it is now, if I kept it clean." he murmured behind her._

"_Yes I think that would be my trove of the last Golden Dragons." He said happily. Filia felt a sudden tug of her hair, and heard a light rattle of metal. Then in an instance, she felt her head become extremely lighter, as frayed ends of her hair fell around her face, released from the braid it was once held in._

_Elias walked around her, with a piece of string in his mouth, and the length of her braid in his hands. He tied the string around the untied end of her severed hair, keeping it tightened in its braid. Then he placed it in his satchel._

_Filia gazed past him in fear, settling her gaze on the statue of Cepheid. How was she going to get out of this? He placed his arm on her shoulder as he looked down at her._

"_Now then, how should I do it?" He asked as he placed his hand on his chin as he looked down at her. _

_Filia's heart began to race as she tried to fall through her options. He was deliberately keeping a hold of her so she could not phase away. She was running out of time._

_Elias grabbed Filia's chin and raised it to look at him in the eye. His brown empty eyes bore in to her, as if they were laughing at her. He stared at her for a moment as if he was thinking really hard about a discussion that would affect the rest of his life._

"_I want blood." He spoke softly, his fierce eyes danced as he looked at her. "Yes, that would be just right. The memory will last forever. Blood stained on your white dress. Running down your pale arms and long, smooth legs. Blood running down the steps of your gods altar, spilling on the temple of your people. But not the face-" he added as his free hand moved up to cup her cheek._

"_Pale skin, pink lips, rosy cheeks, and blue eyes that give shame to any female. These features will remain whole, and undamaged." He spoke as he examined her as if she was a piece of artwork. "Your eyes will remain open for whoever will find you. You will be a sight to see, the most beautiful corpse."_

_Her chest began to burn, as he bent down, and gently kissed her forehead. Her skin began to crawl with revulsion, and her fist clenched._

"_Now Filia." He said as he took a step back. "It's tim-_

"_Freeze Ray!" Filia shouted desperately as she took him by surprise as she distracted him with the attack. Quickly she ran, she didn't know where she went, but away from him was a good start. She was filled with such fear, that she could hardly breath, as she tried to swallow, hoping it would make the sick feeling in her stomach subside._

_It did not._

"_You can't escape." He laughed as he followed behind her, quick to recover. He then shot a blast of energy past her, destroying one of the dragon lord's statues, which shattered in hundreds of pieces around her. She tried to cover her head as the debris fell around her, as she quickly ran past the statue._

_In this situation, she didn't think logically. Her reflexes took over, not allowing her to see the most logic ways out of her situation. She could have phased away, or even jumped out a window. She could have transformed and flew out of the ceiling if she needed to. But instead, she ran, in fear._

_Kurokei stood watching Elias send another wave of energy at another statue, unknowing what to do .If he defended her, he would die. If he did nothing, she would die. He didn't want either of those outcomes to arise._

_Elias laughed as he continued to destroy all of the lord statues. Filia received minor cuts and scrapes as she fumbled around the room taking shelter. She felt petrified. Her fear was so intense; she was beginning to feel lightheaded. Once all the statues had been destroyed, except the Flarelords, and Cepheid, Elias stepped over to where Filia was huddled on the ground. _

_He quickly shot his hand out at her, and clasped around her throat, as he began to drag her helplessly across the room, as he pressed her against the statue of Cepheid._

_He looked over her for a moment and grinned. "More, I want more of a fight from you." He shouted as he flung her on the ground and shot a blast to the ceiling. The impact destroyed the window mural above, causing the shards of glass come jetting down below. Filia quickly covered her head as the glass fell around her. The sharp shards fell on to her, piercing her all over. The pain filled her, causing her to begin to hyperventilate. When the glass settled, she felt a rough tug on her now short hair, as Elias gripped it and pulled her up from where she laid face down on the floor. She gave a painful yelp as he threw her up to stand._

"_Still not enough blood." Elias swore as he looked at her in dismay. The now opened ceiling caused more of the brightening light to flood in to the room. The sky was dark grey, filled with clouds. It appeared the sun had still not rose over the horizon, but the sky was already lightening._

_Filia, you need to fight back! Her conscious shouted to her. Wake up from your daze! Odilia is counting on you!_

_Filia took a step back, as her bare feet were cut by the surrounding glass. She winced at the pain, unable to continue. Finally, she began to glow gold to transform._

_As soon as she began to glow, Elias shot past her, clamping his fist around her throat once more, shoving her down on the glass spawn floor, causing her transformation to cease._

"_No, no no. You will not be transforming. I want you to be in your human form when you leave this world." His hot breath crushed down on her as he pressed her hard on to the glass._

_She gave out a sharp cry as the glass penetrated her back, as tears of pain began to fall from her._

"_Yes, fill me with your fear; fill me with your pain." Elias shouted as he laughed violently. "Make this the best kill." He shouted as he pulled out his dagger which he used to remove her hair. Quickly he plunged the cold blade down in to her sternum._

_A blood curdling scream came from Filia, which was quickly ended as blood began to fill her lungs, and she began to cough up blood. The pain caused her to fall numb, as he drew the blade down her body._

_Emptiness filled her, panic slipping past her as she tried to focus on the grey sky above. Fear and pain far away, as she was unable to focus on nothing but the grey sky above._

_Xelloss, I'm dying._

_Filia could hardly feel her body being dragged across the floor once more or the pain of the glass that raped at her skin. She didn't feel the pressure of the rough arms that moved her from the floor to the altar of her god._

_She began to cough up more blood, her chest weak from the damage from her wound. She heard talking, but it felt distant, as if she was submerged under water._

"_It's a Pity, really Filia." Elias said sadly as he sat down beside her, crossing his legs to pick the glass out from his shoes. "I would have loved for him to see this. But I am on a schedule after all, and I couldn't waste such a moment of finding you unattended." He said as he frowned at the stubborn shard wedged in his boot._

"_But I am after all a monster. Living with Zelas and her band of misfit Mazoku shielded you from the fact of what a true monster is. You see, I hate you. I want you to suffer. Where did you get off coming in to the monster community with your radical ideas of changing the monsters in to the LoN ideal race? You should have been killed on the spot. But instead that annoying priest kept you as a pet. It makes me sick. If I had more power, I might have kept you, to remind you everyday what a real monster is. So in a way, I did you a favor Filia, of the Gold dragons."_

_His voice went in and out of her head, as her awareness was beginning to slowly fade from her. The pain and numbness took over her to the point of where she couldn't ever come up with a thought of Val or Odilia._

_Elias frown turned into a snarl as he looked up at the center of the temple. Suddenly, four figures appeared in the temple. After throwing the last shard of glass from his boot on the ground, he stood up, to guard his prey._

_The sight that fell on Xelloss and Val froze both of the warriors. The temple was destroyed, and around were trails of blood, which also lead up to the alter where Filia laid, taking deep uneven breaths underneath the statue of Vrabazard. Her dress was shredded, as was her skin. _

_Without a second of hesitation, Daemon and Salvia darted after Elias, who acceptingly took their challenge head on. Kurokei continued to stand frozen in place, as Val and Xelloss rushed to Filia's side._

_Xelloss immediately began to heal her with miasma, trying to stop her bleeding. She had lost so much blood._

"_Mom! Can you hear me?" Val shouted down at her, lifting her head to look at him. Her unfocused eyes looked past him, unresponsive. "Xelloss?" He shouted, too panicked to call him dad._

_Xelloss glided his hand across her, but it wasn't healing her fast enough. The Miasma was only closing her wounds, but it was unable to remove the access blood that filled her bloods and spilled inside her. Xelloss tried to heal her, as he felt her, begin to disappear._

"_Filia," He spoke in a firm and steady voice. "Filia, you need to speak to me." _

_His voice reached her, but she had no strength to respond. Her hand twitched as she slowly, raised it toward him, and grasped the hem of his shirt, pulling on it. She tried to speak, but only began to choke on blood more. _

'_Filia' He spoke to her mentally. Filia, I'm going to fix you, you need to hold on, even a silly dragon like you can do that._

'_It's too late' though weakly._

'_Don't you dare think that, don't you dare' he threatened her, as he grabbed her hand on his chest, becoming desperate._

'_I am glad you are here,-'_

"_Stop it." Xelloss shouted down at her, looking down at her with betrayed eyes. "Stop it, if you give up you don't have a chance, snap out if it Filia." _

'_Take care of Val and Odile' she barley strung together, as her heart slowed._

'_Protect Seyruun'_

"_God Damnit Filia!" He shouted down at her, his anger rising, as Val looked down at her in fear. "You will NOT die." He shouted as he continued to heal her wounds._

'_Don't be angry, I'm sure Lina is waiting on me'_

"_Stop it!" He shouted, as he became desperate closing the last of her wounds. Even though they were sealed, the blood remained in her lungs, and she began to fall out of the world._

'_Forgive me'_

_Xelloss held her, staring down at her in anger. Slowly, her pain, her fear, and her heartache vanished from the world. He could no longer feel her emotions surround him. He felt nothing._

_He felt nothing._

_Behind Val and Xelloss, Salvia and Daemon continued to fight Elias. It seemed Elias had the upper hand in the battle, as he relayed a volley of attacks on the two._

_Then without any warning, a furious roar came from Xelloss, as he became surrounded in Miasma. His eyes had sharpened as he locked eyes with Elias, and faster then it took to blink, he transformed. In a matter of seconds, he ripped through Elias, leaving nothing behind._

_Val watched in fear as he held Filia, while Xelloss pulsated with insanity and rage. Then with a dark flash, he was gone._

The screen then fell blank.

Everyone in the room was still, in an excruciating silence. Amelia was so frozen with fear and shock, she didn't even blink as tears fell from her eyes.

The room remained silent for a few moments. Nobody could talk, nobody could say a thing.

As if she had been holding a breath for a long time, Lina exhaled.

"Why." Her voice finally broke the silence, in a harsh, unforgiving tone.

"Why would you show us this? What does this have to do with a cure for Zelgadis?" She asked infuriated. All humor was forgotten from the tiny sorceress. She had gone dead serious as she stood up and walked over to the table where Nexus sat. She roughly grabbed the book, squeezing it more harshly then was considered polite.

"Why would you show us this?" She shouted again down at the book, her voice cracking.

Amelia shuddered as Lina's voice spooked her. Zelgadis, who had taken the princesses hand during the horror of the battle they had witnessed, tightened in comfort.

"After the events of the Temple of Cepheid,-" Nexus spoke in a haunting voice. "After Filia's death, the war of Severance began again. The kingdom of Seyruun was annulated within the week. An ambush was set up. The man behind Elias was Lord Dynast. He wanted revenge on Zelas for denying him Odilia. He along with his followers led an assault on Wolfpack Island." He spoke, as Lina released him stepping away from him.

"Gieza killed Val and Miriam in the battle. Dexi, in rage fought him to the death. Zelas and Xelloss were both killed by Dynast. Once Zelas died, Daemon died, due to being in a Pact with Beastmaster Zelas. Haleron and Salvia were also killed by Dynast, and Odilia became his."

Lina swallowed hard, avoiding looking at any of her comrades. "And Kurokei? What part did he play in all this?"

"He, ran." Nexus spoke after a pause. "After Filia died, he was filled with such a large amount of grief, he fled from everyone. After Odilia was taken from Wolfpack Island, she was raised by Dynast. He turned her in to a killer. The balance of the world was destroyed, and the chaos of the world took over."

"So then what happened to Rufus?" Amelia asked in a quivering voice.

"He was never seen again. It is believed that Elias had killed him at some point." Nexus replied.

"So then it was a ruse about learning about a cure?" Zelgadis confirmed.

"Yes it was." Nexus replied without an ounce of regret. Zelgadis didn't even feel put down about that fact. Yes, he felt that was going to be the outcome of this journey, but now that didn't matter. No cure could be more important then watching a friend be slaughtered as they had just witnessed.

"So then." Xelloss asked, finally speaking up. "What was your master plan in showing us this, oh great record of L-Sama?"

"Simple, I have been sent, to fix what had transpired, many years ago." he stated.

"Fix, how is showing us this information going to fix anything?" Lina asked angerly.

"Perhaps this is the best time for me to reveal that." Nexus spoke out.

"Around four hundred and fifty years after the rein of Dynast began; Odilia had became Dynast right hand subordinate. He had no general or priest. He no longer needed one with the power she was packing. It became a curse. Everyone knew that if you saw Odile, you were going to die. She was responsible for killing all the remaining dragons, and she also killed Deep Sea Dolphin."

"How could she have turned so bad?" Gourry asked. "She was such a good kid."

"After the loss of everyone she loved, she became warped, and broken. Dynast took her, and treated her with the worst of care, until she was nothing but a rabid animal. But, it seemed he couldn't remove all the good in her. She longed to return to her family, and this caused her to be able to reach out to the Lord of Nightmares."

"What happened?" Amelia asked.

"She met me. She had not really known me, but she knew what role I played in her mother's death, and she tried to kill me. But after we both understood how deeply we were both suffering, she made a suggestion. Appeal before L-sama to change what had already past. With her magic, she was able to create a spell that was reverse of the Giga Slave. She and I were instead brought to the lord of Nightmares, where Odile offered a sacrifice to change the past."

"She went to speak to the LoN?" Lina asked shocked. "In the Sea of Chaos?"

Xelloss narrowed his eyes at the book awaiting his answer.

"Yes. She and I both offered a sacrifice to return to the past to alter the future. And in doing so, she sent us back to this time."

"Wait, does that mean she is here now?" Lina asked.

Nexus grew silent for a moment, then after a tense pause he said. "I think now is the best time."

They all looked at the book curiously, till a body phased in to the room.

It was a woman, who was tall, with long flowing golden hair that was held in a tight braid stood before them. She wore gladiator style clothes that showed more than a little skin. Her features were stern, and her expression was harsh. She had haunting dark violet piercing eyes that stared at them grimly.

"Odilia?" Lina asked as she looked at the older woman, who looked at her brutally.


	28. Nexus's Identity Is Revealed!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. I got a lovely bunch of Coconuts doDAdeDo!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 28 – Nexus identity Revealed? **

As everyone in the room remained silent, Nexus used his power to open the drapes, allowing the blaring white light fall in the room. It was still in a continuous snow fall outside the comfort of the cabin, as the bright morning light reflected harshly off the glittered earth.

Odilia crossed her arms as she stared down at the Slayers. No one made a move to speak, as they all stared at her, mouths agape.

Amelia, still broken down from what they had viewed only seconds before, had a few forgotten tears in her eyes as Zelgadis continued to hold her hand tightly.

Gourry had stood up, standing behind Lina ready to protect her if necessary, as Lina looked at her unblinking.

But it was none of them her eyes held. She looked past each of them, settling her eyes on Filia.

Filia, who had been greatly affected by what she had witnesses, had frozen before the screen blanked. Now she locked eyes, with the cold and haunting woman, who was supposedly her daughter. She was unable to move, or respond.

Xelloss felt the emptiness inside Filia, and took an apprehensive glance at her. No fear came out of her as she stood next to him. No harsh depression weighed down on her from what they had witnessed, or heard. She remained unmoving and unfeeling.

Odilia's eyes softened, as she took a hesitant step to Filia. She nervously cleared her throat as she stood in front of her. Odilia had grown to be over and inch taller than Filia. Her body was more built then hers, due to her more enhanced muscles and physical fitness. But when they stood next to each other, there was no denying that they shared the same blood.

Odilia stood there, staring at Filia for some time. It was as if she had something she wanted to say to her, but couldn't find her voice to tell her. After a few long moments, she dropped her eyes, deciding that she couldn't bring herself to tell her.

"Odilia, shall we now explain our full situation?" Nexus asked up to her, distracting her from whatever track her mind was set on.

"Yes." She replied in a low alto tone. "Now is the time."

Odilia backed up as she turned to face the table, and picked up Nexus.

"Almost half a century ago,-" Odile began to explain, and turned her gaze on to Xelloss. "My father returned home, but my mother did not. From that day, he began to go on continuous missions for his master. I was left with Haleron, my mentor and protector. Val, had shut down, and would no longer visit me, and neglected Dexi. Everyone I knew had grieved the loss of my mother. After only a few months, an attack was carried out against Wolfpack Island. In the battle, almost everyone was destroyed, on both sides. Xelloss died, protecting Lord Zelas, and when she was slain, the black dragon Daemon died with her. Unknown to everyone, Zelas had performed the Pact with him over three thousand years prior. With the death of her master, and Daemon, Salvia went insane, and attacked Dynast head on. She was also slain. Then when Dynast came after me, Haleron died trying to protect me."

"After that, I was taken to live with Dynast. He raised me, allowing me to live as long as I obeyed him. When I was trained enough, he began to send me out on missions. If I completed them, he would not torture me. Out of self protection from him, I began to comply with my missions. When they were too much for me to handle emotionally, he would tortured me to the brink of death, then left me to heal in a small room he kept for just me." She replied.

"I am not proud of what I have done, nor do I excuse it." She stated. "I am past the point of looking for forgiveness for the crimes I have done in the past. Nor do I look for sympathy, because it would be a wasted emotion. What I am looking for is a solution to re-write my past. To change the future of a scared little girl, who was too weak to stand up to those stronger then her, like everyone did before her. I gave in, instead of dying for what was right, like Haleron, and everyone else. The only way I can atone for my actions is to make it so that it never happened."

Disbelieving that she was even there, everyone continued to stare at her. Finally, Zelgadis broke the silence.

"If that is true, does that mean that you have been here since the very beginning?" Zelgadis asked looking over the tall woman.

"Since the very beginning." She replied. "I kept myself hidden because it would have been easier that way. You would have all wanted answers before you knew what questions to ask. Therefore I remained in the astral plane, watching from there."

"The Astral Plane has been sealed off in this place, or so I thought." Xelloss mentioned, reminding her of what he was told.

"It was for you." She replied. "We needed to make sure that you were all kept in this realm. If you would have tried to find your way out, you could have been caught in a labyrinth of separate planes, and could have ended up anywhere."

"How did you get here? And by hear, I mean in the past." Lina wondered allowed, in a voice that said 'things are a little hectic right now, but I need some information.'

"That-" She paused "Is a little bit of a story."

"Well, it's not like we haven't been sitting for over three day's watching and listening to one of those." Lina waved her hand unenthusiastically.

"Always about the details." Odilia sighed, as she sat down on top of the table, crossing her legs as she faced them each.

"Before Nexus was created, he was a monster that I was sent out to kill. When I arrived to kill him, we came to an understanding that each of us wanted to reverse time." She said as if someone had decided they wanted cake for lunch. "So, I created a spell, to summon us to the Lord of Nightmares."

"That's must be some spell. I bet it wasn't no small feat." Lina commented. "A spell like that has to be stronger then the Giga Slave. How did you manage that?"

"It is simple. My bucket capacity is much higher than any I have ever met, and I also have these." She said as she rose her arm up. On her wrist was a ancient looking bracelet with a crimson orb attached to it.

"The Demon's blood talismans!" Lina shouted as she looked at her own to make sure they were still in place.

"That's right. They were my fathers." She mentioned as she looked down at them, causing Lina to snap a glare at the monster. Xelloss chuckled nervously as he placed his hands in the air in defense.

"Well that is funny because your 'FATHER' gave them to ME!" Lina shouted.

"I know that." Odilia replied unthreatened by Lina's rage. "And when you died, they returned back to my dad."

Lina's eyes narrowed as she glared at Xelloss, "What did you rip them off my lifeless body before I even turned cold?" She barked at him, her fangs bared.

Xelloss just continued to smile nervously at her as she shot irate feelings his way. "I'm sure it wasn't like that."

"Any-way's -" Odilia complained, grabbing their attention once more. "With the boost of the Talisman's, and a spell I created, we were transported to the sea of chaos, where L-sama dwelled. There we made a pact with her, in exchange to learn the way to fix what had come to be, both made a sacrifice for her."

"Ok, hold on," Gourry interjected. "Who is this monster you keep referring to that traveled with you?" The swordsman asked in confusion.

"Nexus . . ." Odilia replied, somewhat hesitantly.

"But didn't you say that when you met Nexus, he was still only a Monster?" Lina asked.

"Yeah you did." Amelia agreed. "So who was he really?"

"Yes, who is Nexus?" Zelgadis asked curiously wanting to know the fact as well.

"I don't think that is really impor-" Odilia began to state.

"No." Filia spoke up, for the first time since they had witnessed her death. "I want to know who you are." She spoke down to the book.

"Is that a command my master?" Nexus asked, sounding slightly put out. Filia looked down at him with hard eyes. "Yes."

"If my master commands, then I have no choice." The book said, as it began to float beside Odilia.

After a short silence he began his tale. "After the death of Filia, I felt I had lost my whole reason of purpose. I regretted every day after her death that I didn't do anything to protect her. In a way, I felt responsible for her death." The book began, causing Amelia to bring her hands to her mouth in shock.

"You don't mean that your,-" she spoke out.

"When Odilia was sent to kill me, I was shocked how much she looked like her mother, and I fell to her knees and asked for her forgiveness. Odilia, who by all rights because of what and who she is, should have killed me on the spot. Instead she sympathized with me, and told me of her desire to change the past that plagued the both of us."

"He was such a weak man, I knew that I could kill him whenever I saw fit." Odile intervened. "It had been so long since I spoke to someone who knew my parents. I felt, comfort in speaking about them." She spoke out, making it a point to not look at either Filia or Xelloss.

"So I told her about a spell that was once used by a companion of her mothers. And that spell was the Giga Slave." He stated.

"What would you have accomplished by casting the Giga Slave?" Zelgadis asked confused by the books logic.

"She had been searching for a way to communicate with the Lord of Nightmares, and the spell was the only one of its kind that deals with summoning L-sama anywhere. But after I described the basics of the spell she decided that was not what she needed. So, she created a new spell."

"A new spell?" Lina asked intrigued.

"That's right. Odile created a new spell, which took us to LoN, where we made a request to learn of a possible way of returning to the past and changing the outcome of Filia's death. If Filia would have never died, we believe that Dynast wouldn't have advanced on Wolfpack Island. With the combined knowledge of Elias true plan and Odilia knowing all anyone could have know about Dynast, she concluded that Dynast would not have been able to overpower Zelas, if she had not been worried about Xelloss. You see, after Filia died, so did Xelloss. He lost his reason to live, there for he was easy to kill. And once she lost Xelloss, Zelas became distracted in her fight, which caused her to eventually fall in battle."

"So you're saying," Filia asked sounding skeptical, "That my death is the reason Namagomi over here is going to die?" She asked looking at them with a disbelieving look. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Believe it or not, it is true." Odile spoke to her.

"Please." Snorted Filia angrily, and then turned to Xelloss. "How can you just sit there, and pretend to believe what they are saying?" She asked him.

Xelloss stared at her for a moment, and then crossed his arms. "I could see you being the death of me, but not out of affliction, boredom perhaps, or lack of patience's with dealing with such an incompetent Dragon." He replied in a false serious tone.

Filia, glared at him, as she jumped from where she sat, and stomped over to him. She grabbed a fist full of his robes and violently yanked him toward her.

"This is not the time for your cheap cracks about me being a Dragon or incompetent." She shouted at him as he stared at her curiously with his eyes closed. "Don't you see how nonsensical their claims are?" She begged for him to agree with him.

Frustrated tears began to fill Filia's eyes as she glared down at him. "There is no way we could be together. Monsters can't love, and even if they could, we could never be together." She shouted down to him. "So it is impossible for me to live with Zelas, Impossible for me to do missions for her, and impossible for us to have a chi-"

Xelloss quickly covered her mouth with his gloved hand; eyes snapped open looking at her in a serious manner. Instead of replying with a fake cheery comment, he must have tasted how panicked and imbalanced she had become, so he let his mask drop.

"Filia, you're hysterical. You need to snap out of it before you say something you regret. Wither I believe or don't think that you and I could ever love each other, is irrelevant right now. What I do know, is that over time people can change, and over time anything is possible. I also know that the original question was who Nexus was. We can't get sidetracked by your incapability to grasp the situation." He spoke as he grabbed the fist that was gripping his clothes roughly, and pulled it from his robes, as he stood up, looking down at her. "You had nothing to prepare you watching your own demise, and that would bother anyone, but now we have more important things to worry about, like seeing what these two want to do to fix your future, and mine."

Filia stared at him with wide eyes trying to choke back a cry. Her anger subsided, as she realized everything he said was true.

Xelloss released his hold on her fist, allowing her to back away from him, as she fell to the floor and held her face in her hands, trying to control her swelling emotions.

Lina scratched her face, feeling awkward about her friend and not knowing how to handle the situation.

"So then," Zelgadis spoke up relieving the silence. "You were saying." He encouraged Odilia.

Odilia removed her gaze on her mother on the floor and turned to the chimera. "Right."

"When we arrived before the Lord of Nightmares, we explained how we believed that altering Filia's death would have helped maintain the balance of the world. She denied us at first, and was deciding if she wanted us to stay with her, or if she wanted to return us to our world, then Nexus made a suggestion to her, if she would send us back in time, to speak with the greatest know sorceress, and bring her to back to her, would she reconsider. This made her curious and asked why he would think this would change her decision, and he replied, it would be more fun that way."

"Sound like a typical monster response." Lina scoffed.

"So Nexus was created." Odilia said.

"Wait, didn't Filia already have Nexus in the future?" Amelia asked suddenly.

"That is correct. Nexus was not immediately sent here from the Sea of Chaos. He was sent farther into the future, to oversee everything, and record it to show each of you." Odilia replied.

"But then didn't that already change time?" Zelgadis asked. "Wasn't Filia brought to Wolfpack Island because she possessed Nexus and the information inside him?"

"No, this was a lie to make you believe Nexus when he arrived. Originally, Filia just came to Wolfpack Island. It was an easier choice for Xelloss and Zelas to accept her when she had Nexus, but before him, she was still brought to Zelas."

"So after Filia died again, LoN sent him and myself back in time to meet you all." She concluded.

"But you still haven't answered our question." Amelia mentioned. "Who is Mr. Nexus really?"

"Nexus was someone close to my mom, or at least, he wished to be close. It is unusual for a Monster to seek companionship from someone. But with the monsters learning to feed off happiness and other positive emotions, it caused them to become more tolerant to the feelings, and eventually harbor them." She replied as stared them down.

"Nexus, before he ran from the war of severance, was a conflicted man, or monster which ever you want to refer to him as. He was on the fence about which side he wants to work for. He found that he enjoyed to tease my mom, and eventually he was ordered to kill her. Then he realized he couldn't, so instead he wiped her memory to keep her out of the way of his masters plans. When he was sent to kill her a second time, he told her he would only attack her if she attacked him. allowing him to keep things peaceful between them. Lastly, he sought her out as his only chance to escape, but when he met her, his master had followed him. In front of his master, if he would have struck out, he would have died. In the end he did nothing, and she died."

"Are you saying that Nexus is-" Lina stated in shock.

"Kurokei!" Amelia answered enthusiastically. "Mister Kurokei fell in love with Miss Filia, isn't that true! It explains how cold he was towards Xelloss, and how determined he was to make us finish this story. He is doing it all for Miss Filia!" The tiny girl clapped her hands together in awe. "Its so romantic!"

"I wouldn't really put it that way." Nexus replied solemnly.

"So then how are we supposed to save Filia?" Lina asked ready to carry on the conversation.

"We are going to have you cast the Giga Warp, the spell of my own invention. Then we are going to use our combined powers to send Nexus to the future where he will possess his own body, and change his actions, to save Filia." Odilia said.

"Wait, if you created this spell to summon you to LoN, then how are we going to use it?" Lina asked bewildered.

"Well first we go to LoN, as promised. Then we will trust her to help us with a solution. She must have some kind of plan. So Lina can you do it?" Odilia asked her with a challenging glance.

Lina looked from Odilia to Filia, and then if any doubt was on her face, it was quickly removed, as she grinned up at the time traveler with determination.

"Of course I can. I am Lina Inverse aren't I?"


	29. Rendezvous With Tomorrow!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. I want a hippopotamus for Xmas, so I can sell it and buy lots of anime!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 29 – Rendezvous With Tomorrow?**

"This is no simple spell Lina, are you sure you're prepared to try this?" Odilia asked Lina trying to make sure she knew what she was getting in to.

"Yeah, Yeah. I said I would do it didn't I?" Lina waved her hand dismissively.

"Once Lina decides she is going to do something here is no stopping her." Zelgadis commented to Odilia.

"Lina, are you sure? Meeting the LoN sounds rather sketchy." Gourry said concerned to Lina scratching his head.

"Oh Lina will be safe." Nexus replied without an ounce of doubt.

"What makes you say that Mr. Kurokei?" Amelia wondered as she looked down at the book.

"Chaos follows Lina everywhere she goes; LoN wouldn't rid the world of something that wonderful." He responded.

"Just so were clear on the specifics, after Lina performs the spell what happens to us?" Xelloss asked. "By the information I gather, this cabin is created by Nexus. So then what happens when he, Lina and Odilia leave this plane?"

"Were going to return to the Fire dragon temple first." Odile replied. "We don't want any complications getting in the way before we leave. Lina will only just barely be able to support herself with this spell, so all of you will have to remain behind."

"How are we to know what is happening?" Amelia asked. "How will we know everything turns out ok?"

Odilia looked down at Nexus hesitantly, and then replied, "Nexus will not be able to support the screen, however, I believe Xelloss and Filia can help out with that." She said as she looked up at them with a grin.

Xelloss eyebrow rose at the strange request, while Filia gave her a leery look. "And how could that be?"

Odilia walked over to the two, and unhesitantly grabbed each of their hands. "Fusion magic. Filia's Holy magic and Xelloss Demonic." Odilia replied looking at them both seriously. "Filia, you are going to use your Holy magic to oversee Lina, who will be over seeing the future. You will keep a lock of her hair, you know the spell."

"Yeah, but that spell won't work across different planes. It won't even work on the astral plane." Filia replied back to her, looking down slightly flustered by the girls touch.

"That is where Xelloss comes it. His Demonic energy will strengthen the spell, allowing it to reach where Lina is." Odilia answered.

"Are you sure that will work?" Zelgadis questioned her. Odilia turned her violet gaze on to the chimera with an earnest glance. "I am not completely sure, the only proof I have is that I personally have performed the spell, with my own combined Holy and Demonic energy. That is why I believe, combined; Xelloss and Filia could do it."

"Well it's worth a try." Amelia grinned determined. "Mr. Xelloss, Miss Filia, were counting on you."

"Now that we each know what our mission's are, I will transport us back to the fire temple, but first-" Nexus stated. "Xelloss, can I have your word that as soon as we return to the physical plane you will not abandon everyone, and return to your master?"

"Oh don't you trust me?" Xelloss sneered.

"No, I don't." Nexus replied. "I have no reassurance that you won't just phase away once we return to the physical plane."

"Boo-Hoo!" Xelloss mocked him.

"Joke all you want, Xelloss really. This is important to your future as wells a Filia and Odilia. I'm not too sure about your feelings toward either of them at this point in time, but if you plan to double cross me I will trap you in a space like this for the rest of your existence." Nexus threatened.

Xelloss looked down at the book with a dark glance. "If this future is true, then my master is in danger of being destroyed, am I right?" His voice fell over the room in an icy fog. "There for, it would be a number one priority for me to make sure that doesn't happen now wouldn't it? Therefore thinking I was planning on jumping ship before we even set sail is a misjudged assumption."

"That is a rather vague answer." Nexus replied sounding disbelieving, and somewhat challenging.

"There is nothing vague about what I have said. If you want a completely straight forward answered then I would be happy to give you one. I will remain with everyone. Unlike you, I know what part I will play in this situation. Perhaps since you are widely to blame for all of this mess in the first place, you would do well to keep the threats down to a bare minim, unless you really believe you can back them up." Xelloss said bluntly, and harshly.

"Boy's please." Lina interjected angrily. "All this macho, machoness is really giving me a headache."

Odilia looked from the book to Xelloss mildly confused, but decided it was better to leave the situation alone. After everyone had settled down she cleared her throat and asked, "Alright, is everyone ready?"

"I believe so Miss Odile." Amelia nodded as she looked over each of her companions. "We're ready whenever you are."

"Okay then, Nexus, if you don't mind." Odilia instructed to the book, after she picked it up and held it out in her arms. Immediately a dark miasma began to seep out of the book, filling up the room and swallowing each of them up in it.

The energy filled each of them, making them each feel lighter as they were transported through different planes. When their bodies began to get heavier, they knew they arrived at their destination.

When the miasma faded, they found themselves in a dimly lit room that was like an overly large cavern. It was filled with stone walls, and shallow pools all around. Small streams of light fell around that came through small cracks in the ceiling, and flooded around the room and then bounced and reflected of the waters and stones all around. There were hundreds of crystals that filled up the cavern, giving it a shined look.

"Where are we?" Zelgadis asked. "I don't ever remember seeing this in the temple." He expressed as he looked around the small grotto.

Amelia bushed her hand across the stone surface around her causing crystal dust to be moved around, as she brought her hand up and admired the blue green shine that glittered on her hands.

"It's so pretty." She smiled at it.

"This is where dragon and dragoness would go for purification." Filia spoke out, also touching a rock surfaces and looking at the fine crystal sands on her finger tips. "Now that nobody lives here anymore so it has been unused."

"Why have you brought us here?" Gourry asked as he looked around the dim lit room. "Is there something in here that will help Lina?"

"Not Lina, but Filia and Xelloss." Odilia replied as she swiped her hand across the stones, and clapped her hands causing the glitter from the walls fly around her hands as it trailed to the ground. She smiled at the shiny sparkles that fell from her hands, and then brushed it remaining dust off.

"Mom used to tell me of this place before. She said that the waters enhanced holy spells. I believe if she uses the water as an amplifier, it will help her and dad to project Miss Lina." She announced then walked over to the sorceress. "May I?"

"Oh alright." Lina replied crossing her arms. Odilia reached over and cut a strand of her hair out, and dropped the hair one by one in to a small pool that was separate from the larger pools, causing it to make the water ripple.

"Filia if you would." Odilia asked, as Filia walked over to the glossy blue surface.

Filia closed her eyes and placed her hands out in front of her, as a white light slowly filled her hands, and began to trail down into the water changing the surface to a bright reflective surface. Lina's intrigued face filled the space below.

"Hey it's me!" Lina said, as the water copy joined her in unison.

"Scary." Gourry stated looking down below. Lina quickly jumped up and gave him a good whack on the noggin.

"Now if you don't mind,-" Odilia stated looking at Xelloss, "Join hands with her, and proceed to place your energy the water."

"Join hands?" Filia asked felling violated at the suggestion. "Is that really necessary?"

"No." Odilia replied. "If you don't want to watch Lina then please don't trouble yourself." She said harshly. "If you do, he needs to support your magic to be able to follow Lina along with myself and nexus to the Sea of Chaos."

Pouting, Filia looked back at Xelloss, to see what the smug bastard had to say about this situation. But instead of seeing him smiling or appearing to have a quick witted comment to throw her way, he just looked at her in a business sort of way, with his hand outstretched. This made her feel even more uncomfortable, but she silently reached out her gloved hand, and gave it up to his.

He latched his fingers in-between hers, and then began to transmit his energy down to the pool below. Filia felt her cheeks began to heat, against her wishes, as she looked the other way. _He could have just grasped her hand. . This just seemed a little to intimate._

She quickly tried to beat down her embarrassment, knowing that Xelloss, and possibly even Odilia could feel it. After feeling composed she turned back to look at Odilia, who was now removing her bulky black armor.

"Lina, I suggest you remove your armor. Where we are going you will not need it, and it will only make things more difficult on you. The less weight the better." She said as she removed her dark red cape, black gantlets, shoulder gear and even her heavy boots. This left her in only her in her white under leotard that gathered at the neck and was sleeveless that was covered at the waist by a cut red skirt, with hung in panels across her legs. She had white stockings that ended near her upper thigh.

With the lack of the black armor, she didn't look nearly as menacing, but more so a normal girl, with haunting Mazoku eyes and long braided hair.

Lina quickly removed her armor as she was told and placed it on the floor. Without the heavy burden of her shoulder armor, cape and boots, she joined Odilia.

Odilia nodded her head as she stood next to her. They faced the rest of the group, looking determined.

Gourry looked over Lina unable to join her where she was going and looked over her uneasily and slightly saddened. Lina must have noticed this and removed her black head band. "Hey big guy," She shouted at him, as she flung it at him, hitting him square in his dazed face.

"Ouch- Hey Lina, what's the big idea?" Gourry shouted in surprise, grabbing the head band that just caused the red mark on his forehead.

"Hold on to that for me 'kay?" Lina smiled at him and gave him thumbs up. "It's really important to me, so take care of it till I get back."

Gourry looked at the head band for a second then looked at her and smiled. "I will protect it in your place till you return to me." He smiled as he placed it around his wrist causing her to blush briefly.

"Then I know it's in good hands." She called back to him in confidence.

Amelia sighed in happiness and looked up at Zelgadis. "That was rather forward of Miss Lina don't you think Mr. Zelgadis?"

"Perhaps Lina isn't as confident in going to the Lord of Nightmares as we believed." He replied down to her.

"I know she will be ok."Amelia replied confidently.

"Oh and how is that?" Zelgadis asked in a small grin.

"Because Miss Lina is worried about Miss Filia, so she is on a mission for justice." Amelia explained. "And Justice always triumphs."

Zelgadis shook his head at the short dreamer and muttered, "I hope your right Amelia."

"Alright are we ready?" Odilia asked as she looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be in place and ready to go. Odilia took her place in front of Lina then paused as her eyes fell on Filia.

Lina didn't miss the glance and looked over Odilia. "You have something you need to say to her." she whispered to the blond without forming the statement into a question. "This is your last chance."

"I know, but I just think it would be easier to leave it unsaid." Odilia shook her head.

"Is that how you really want to leave it?" Lina asked her.

Odilia looked from Filia to Xelloss, and smiled. "It's fine. Besides, I tricked them in to holding hands, I think that is enough for me." She smiled at Lina. "You know, when they were together, they were very beautiful. Crazy and a little unbalanced, but very beautiful. I've never seen a pair look as right together as they did." She whispered in admiration at her parents.

"Uh, right." Lina chuckled nervously not sure what to say to that statement as she scratched her forehead. Odilia just laughed it off and picked up Nexus.

"All right Miss Lina, first we will need to perform the spell to boost the power of our talismans first. This spell is difficult enough for me to perform on myself, so I believe you will equally have the same problem. We need to be at our most heightened power."

"Wait, is that part of the reason we have been lounging around for three day's while I stuffed my face every meal?" Lina asked suddenly as if it all clicked.

"You don't miss a trick do you?" Odilia smirked at her. "You don't realize how much energy this spell is going to require."

"Well I'm not going to complain, free food is free food." Lina replied happily.

"You're a strange one," Odilia laughed. "Now how about that booster spell?" causing Lina to nodded her head at the taller blonde, as she stretched her arms out to her side, as did Odile.

"_Lord of Darkness and the four worlds, I call upon you grant me all the power you possess." _They chanted in unison as the talismans began to glow on each of them.

"Alright Lina, when you're ready, open Nexus, the spell is written for you there. I will begin when you are ready."Odilia informed Lina, as she nodded and took a deep breath.

"It was really nice to meet you Miss Odilia!" Amelia shouted out to her, "You too Mr. Nexus. I hope things work out for you."

"Thank you Amelia." Odilia awkwardly smiled back at her, as Zelgadis gave them both a thumbs up.

Xelloss and Filia stared at them both, looking unsure what to say. Odilia's face brightened as she looked at the two and shouted, "No more frowny faces!"

Filia's eyes widened at that small saying, and against her judgment of what was right or wrong, she smiled back to the girl. "Be safe."

"You too." Odilia said back, hopeful.

"Well you know . . ." Filia laughed at her.

"Well take care of things here, you three just focus on things in the future." Xelloss replied with a cheerful grin.

Odilia's eyes brightened as she looked over them both. Her smile faded slightly as she took one last look at them. "You both take care." She whispered, then turned to Lina and nodded her head. Lina returned the gesture and grabbed Nexus from where he was floating.

"Alright, here we go!" Lina shouted as she flew open the book.

Golden light began to shine out of the book as a surge of power pulsed through the air. The colors reflected off of the walls and water around them changing the silvery blue atmosphere to bright gold. Lina looked down at the spell book before her as she flipped a few pages and noticed that the same spell was written on each page inside.

"Alright Odile, you ready?" she asked as she held the golden book out in front of her. "Here we go." She shouted as the two of them began to chant.

Lord of Chaos, Mother of all

Fuse our powers and hear my call

Heed our quest in search of enlightenment

With powers of Present, past and Future combined

We join together to let our determination shine

Bring us to the sea of your existence

Where we can be united together at last . .

Giga Warp!

Golden orbs began to flood out of Nexus as Lina and Odilia as they began the spell. The lights began to slowly wrap around them, and soon after they were both encased in a bright gold light that wove from Nexus, connecting them.

Magic blew from the book, whipping Lina and Odilia's hair and close around as they continued the spell. The force of the magic coming out of the book was strong and bright as they finished up the chant.

Amelia, Zelgadis, Xelloss, Filia and Gourry watched in awe as the bright lights flooded around Lina, swirling and spinning. Then when the spell was completed, the lights shone so bright they each had to avert their eyes.

When the light subdued, and their eyes adjusted, Lina, Odilia, and Nexus were gone. The room returned to its sparkly blue state, in the dimly lit cavern. Quickly, each of them turned to look at the enchanted water below them, prepared to watch Lina meet the mother of all chaos.

The Lord of Nightmares.


	30. The Sea Of Chaos!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. But, Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm up to 30 chapters!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

**Chapter 30 – The Sea of Chaos!**

_When Lina jumped in to this ordeal, she had not thought about what she was REALLY doing. She had not remembered what it was like for the LoN to take over her existence, or the emptiness it brought to her. She had neglected to realizes, the depth of the decision to transport her to The Sea of Chaos, or the mass amount of magic that kept her from being swallowed completely by the darkness._

_While she ignored those things she was held behind a Protective magical barrier, free from the turmoil that raged around her, in bright gold. Endless gold, past farther than the eye could see, was an infinite Sea of Chaos._

_Severely weakened, Lina stood up from where she was, and grabbed a better view of what was around her. It was strangely beautiful, and even more terrifying then ever imaginable._

_Beside her, Odilia too looked more exhausted, as she weakly stood next to her, while nexus continued to glow gold in front of them._

"_What now?" Lina asked, and as she did, her voice echoed all around her, giving her a slight shiver._

_After she spoke, a large wave of black magic appeared in front of them. Ribbons of gold, black, and white magic wove in to the ball of energy, which were all being sucked from the void around them. White sparks crackled around them, as the void grew larger and larger. Then, when the magic subsided, a young woman floated in front of them._

_She had a small body, which was covered in black armor, covering over a dark red turtleneck. She had long golden hair and a golden circlet on her forehead. Her eyes appeared emotionless as she looked down at the visitors with an amused smile. _

_Lina's eyes widened. 'This was her, the mother of all. She who shines like gold upon the sea of chaos. The Golden lord. The Lord of Nightmares.' _

"_You who have entered my home, what do you seek?" The voice asked from the girl, though her lips didn't move. The girl must have just been a projection of the LoN, and not her actual self._

"_We have returned with Lina Inverse." Odilia replied to her, bowing down to the girl. "In hopes that you would reconsider your decision to help us change the fate of Filia Ul Copt, and the world that came crumbling down after her demise."_

_LoN looked at Odilia with a stone face as she turned to look over Lina. Her eyes never blinked. _

"_When you relived your past,-"She asked down to Nexus, "Did you learn anything you didn't know before?" _

"_I learned a great deal of things my lord." Nexus replied back to her._

"_Then please explain." LoN commanded._

"_When I revisited my past, I saw things my past self refused to neglect. I saw a monster, who against his own nature, fell in love with a dragon. Then he saved her life countless times, and had a reasonable but denying excuse fore each attempt. I saw a monster, who was more worried about power and security, then the true master he wished to ally himself with. Then, I saw a monster, who stood back and did nothing to change, or stop a fate of the one person that brought feelings he did not understand from being destroyed." He spoke out. _

"_But you already knew that." LoN said down to him. "What have you learned that would help you change this fate?"_

"_I saw a monster, which stood idle by, watching the destruction of a light that shone over the monster race. That light kept the balance between the inactive monsters, from the ambitious ones who wished to rage war over the humans and dragons. That light protected the world just by existing, making Monsters wanting to better themselves." Nexus replied. "Filia was a good influence on Wolfpack Island. Monsters became sensitive to her, and began to kill less. They began to mimic her kindness and even her warmth. Most monsters that knew her even built up a tolerance for her pure emotions, even the ones who had no idea to the ability to feed off of them. She brought out the good in the monsters to tie with all the hate, and evil of the monster race, just like her own was filled with love and malice. Filia kept balance to the world, and when she was destroyed, the balance was taken with her. Chaos spread, but it quickly diminished after all the humans and dragons gave up hope. When Dynast took over, there was no more light, there was no more balance. And without balance, there was no chaos."_

"_And changing that makes you think that will fix things?" Lon Asked condescendingly. "Humans, monsters, dragons, and even the gods, will always find justice in their actions. They will find ways to prove that there better for everyone when deep in their hearts, a purely selfish act. Your guilt to let her die is your reason to change the future, not because to the chaos that has gone disarray because of her defeat."_

"_That maybe true, but everything I said is also true." Nexus replied to her._

"_And what about you?" LoN asked Odilia. "Now that you know the truth about your parent's demise, what have you learned?" _

_Odilia looked up at LoN with a calm face. "I learned the true about my mother and my families end. But that changes nothing of what I have done in my life. The knowledge does not excuse the choices I have made in my life, nor does it cause me to seek out vengeance on the man who has wronged me. My only goal is to change the world in to a place where I never had to make the choices I did."_

"_Such a straightforward answer. There are no lies or hidden truths in what you say." LoN seemed pleased. The she turned to Lina, causing her to stand up straight. "And you Lina Inverse? What have you learned?"_

"_Me?" Lina asked curiously, as LoN floated in front of her waiting for her reply. "Uh, well-"she paused as she gathered her thoughts quickly. "Honestly to me the future isn't really my business."_

"_Miss Lina?" Odilia gasped in shock. "How could you say that?"_

"_Hold on, let me finish." Lina winked at her. "First off, this future is way past my time, Therefore I have hardly any say in what goes on. Second, the whole monsters can feed off of positive emotions crap is a little too farfetched for me to comprehend, and third, and most importantly, I may not know everything there needs to be know about monsters and Dragons, but what I do know, is there is no possible way for a monster to have a child." She announced. _

"_Is this what hinders you acceptance to assist in this ordeal?" LoN asked._

"_Maybe." Lina replied honestly. "You see, I have had time to think about it, and I am certain that it just isn't possible. Monsters sacrifice part of their astral bodies to create. That means that when Filia got pregnant, that part of his astral sprit was a part of her, which should have killed her, and the baby would have never been conceived. If perhaps Filia had a child with another non-monster, then the child was killed and reborn as a monster, then that would make more sense, but that was not what happened. There are holes in this story; ones that make me believe I have not been informed on all the information."_

_LoN smiled down on Lina, "So what are you suggesting, Lina Inverse?"_

"_Odilia is created of both holy and demon magic, in short fusion magic. And from what I know about fusion magic is that it is a weaker form of Chaos magic." Lina announced. "Thought it is nowhere to be compared, it is the same magic which you exist from."_

"_Go on." LoN grinned wider._

"_Well for something like that to exist, I believe that it didn't happen by coincidence. I thing you played a part in Odilia being created." Lina accused. Odilia looked from Lina to LoN confused by where this conversation was leading to._

"_You assisted Filia and Xelloss in being able to bring Odilia in to our world because you foresaw the chaos that she would bring. But when everything fell apart, and it actually destroyed Chaos, you felt like you failed. You wish to rewrite history as much as they do, but you want to go a little farther back. You regret creating Odilia, so you want to make it so she never existed."_

_LoN smile spreads across her whole face making her look truly frightening. Her eyes danced with a madness that was indescribable, and then she mock clapped for Lina. "Bravo Miss Inverse. You always were very good at seeing beyond what was to be seen. Please tell me when you figured this out?"_

_When the lord of all asked you a question, you really had no choice but to answer. "After I learned of Odilia's existence. I wasn't sure in your part in all this, but I knew that by normal standards she shouldn't even be able to exist. But you defy all 'normal' standards. That's when I began to piece together the answers."_

"_You are correct human. " She confirmed. "The dragon and monster could have tried for years and on to try and conceive a child but it would never be. They were not created to create like that. So I decided to give them a helpful push to see where things would lead. But, I was unsatisfied by the outcome. At first, the chaos was wonderfully overwhelming, and then in an instant it was as if the universe went silent. No more hope, only dying. No more Love only routine. The world truly ended. I wavered between removing her from time or destroy the world completely until my daughter and the demon appeared."_

"_But you still weren't sure what you wanted to do." Lina said. "So you sent them out on a quest to reflect on the mistakes that were made previously, and to get a second opinion." _

"_It would be interesting to see how this would have all played out before everything went still." LoN spoke out, "And bringing you here has proven to be 'interesting'. So, in order to assist you in to the future plane, you will need to give me a sacrifice." LoN requested. _

"_Odilia and Nexus have already made their trades, tell me Lina, what is most important to you?" _

_Lina grinned and shook her head, "Well you can't have him, so I guess that I will not be assisting this mission."_

_LoN grinned as well, "I see, then how about this, In exchange for helping this, I remove the knowledge of your most powerful spell."_

'_To forget the Giga Slave?' Lina thought to herself as she stared out at the golden sea before her. It would be difficult to part with that. But it was a far better trade then what she thought LoN was going to ask for._

"_Fine, it's a deal." Lina agreed. _

_LoN, grinned, then replied, "Good, your sacrifices will be collected after the mission is accomplished. I will now assist you in sending Nexus to the future. With your combined forces," She pointed at Lina and Odilia, "You will keep him stable in his previous body, where he will control his actions. I will give no second chances after this. Now go, you will not have enough magic to support you for long, and when you run out, you will be sent back to where you belong." LoN spoke as her body vanished and began to wrap around there barrier with gold, black and white lights._

"I can't believe it." Zelgadis uttered in a low voice as he looked down at the enchanted pool beneath him. "The Lord of Nightmares."

"She is more wonderful and terrifying then I could have ever imagined." Amelia added as she too looked down.

Filia stared at the surface unblinking, feeling slightly sick. Lina was sacrificing a lot for her sake, and the sake of the world. Her hand twitched in Xelloss uncomfortably while the aided the projection of Lina from far away. She turned to look at the monster confused by his stillness, to see him crouched down at the pool. No, he was bowing. That made since to Filia, Xelloss was always highly respectful to those above him. The dark lord and LoN. His expression was without any falsehood or fake cheer.

But He didn't look scary, like he usually did when his eyes were open, and serious. He had a softer look to his features; unlike she was used to seeing. More like the look the Xelloss in the future expressed more often. Confused by this look, she couldn't hold back her curiosity for the cause.

"Xelloss, what are you thinking about?" She asked him, in an honest tone that said, 'trust me, and don't tell me it's a secret. . .'

He turned his gaze up at her, rising from where he kneeled, and looked down at her, his hand still loosely in hers.

"Lina spoke the very words that kept me from believing this tale. The sole reason I felt this was all a farce." He said to just her. "But our mother of all had a valid answer that I cannot ignore."

Filia tried to decipher what he meant by that, as she stared up at his relaxed face. Was he saying that he believed it was all true now? ALL off it?

"Can you deny that you don't see a future like the one we have witnessed?" He asked her, causing her heart to freeze up. She immediately wanted to smack him for saying that with such a straight face. Then she wanted to cry because she was confused by it all. The truth was yes she could see it because they had witnessed it first hand, and seeing made it more believable.

Xelloss had a habit of bringing out the worst of her, but if she was being truthful, he also brought out the best. She would have never been able to accept the truth about her race and the crimes they committed if he had not been so honest, and unafraid to hide the truth from her. She would never have been able to assist in the defeat of Darkstar if he had not teased her in to proving she could match up with him. He angered her, and yet, he improved her. Before him, she was just a selfish and naive dragon who followed what her elders taught her. He taught her to create her own opinions, and never lie to herself, even if he didn't mean to.

"I cannot be ignorant and say it is impossible." Filia decided was her best answer. She honestly couldn't see herself with him.

At least not right now.

"So then Odile was born with the help of the LoN." Amelia commented, drawling them out of their short discussion. "It makes more sense that way, but it raises more questions."

"All I care about is Lina to return to us." Gourry commented. "I don't really understand what she is going to do, but I know she is going somewhere we can't reach her." He said as he gripped her head band.

"They are going to send Nexus inside Kurokei to prevent Filia from dying in the future." Amelia pointed out to him.

"You mean they are going to posses Kurokei with the book!" Gourry shouted in fear. "Books really ARE evil!"

"Mister Gourry, books are not evil!" Amelia shouted at him, "It's the people who use the information inside the text for evil purposes!" she shouted.

"But Amelia, isn't taking over the actions of someone considered evil?" Gourry asked her.

"In this case no. Since Nexus is taking over his own body, and since he is doing it for the sake of justice, it is not evil." She replied to him.

"But even so, what could Kurokei do to prevent Filia from dying? Isn't he weaker then Elias?" Gourry pointed out. "What if he just gets killed himself then he would never live to return to the past to fix the future?"

After a second, Gourry blinked, and his expression went blank. "Wait, what . . . "

Everyone fell on the floor.

"Oh Mister Gourry, Being confused by what we say is one thing," She whined to him, "But saying something correct and confusing yourself is another thing entirely!"

"You have to admit he has a point." Zelgadis sighed as he too stood from where he fell. "Does he or Odilia even have a plan to begin with? This would be all for nothing if they just show up and have no course of action to carry out."

"If they just warn Filia, it would probably make no difference in the outcome." Xelloss said as he looked over her. "Not only would she be unable to flee, but she would not be able to stand up to him even if she knew what the outcome was. Elias is much more powerful."

A chill ran down Filia spine as the words rang truth in her ears. What exactly was Odilia and Nexus plan? How would things turn out alright in the end?

"Perhaps we are overlooking a very obvious point here," Zelgadis mentioned after a moment of silence, causing everyone to look in his direction curious to what he was talking about. "Kurokei is a monster, perhaps it isn't Filia he is going to warn."

"What do you mean mister Zelgadis?" Amelia asked him not following where he was going with his statement.

"What if the plan was to let someone stronger then Filia or himself of the future that is about to befall Filia. What if he is going to inform Xelloss, or Daemon?"

"That is true; Xelloss is the one who destroyed Elias isn't he?" Amelia shouted joyfully as she clasped her hands together, "He can rush in and save Filia!"

"Or Daemon could save her, since we learned he is under the pact with Zelas, he is immortal until Lord Zelas is defeated, and only Dynast would do that, and since he would not be called out to this trivial battle he could protect Filia." Zelgadis continued.

"Well whatever the case is, were about to find out." Filia said as she looked down at the sparkling pool below as everyone gathered to look at the images below, as Lina and Odilia began to glow with bright golden Light.

"Now we will see how this will end." She said as she stared down, watching the outcome of her fate, as a golden stream shot from Lina, Odilia, and Nexus, through the Sea of Chaos, and in to a plane that was farther from them then they could ever reach.

_Author's Note: Writing for LoN was very scary. Not much is known about her so I wasn't sure how I wanted to write her out. Hopefully it's believable enough. I have been having some problems with pacing, so that is why this chapter has been delayed so much. I feel much better about how this chapter turned out, I had re-write it twice. _


	31. Back To The Future!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Even Darkstar can't keep me from finishing this story!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_Authors Note - this chapter is very OC heavy, and I apologize. I never meant to create so many characters for this story, but I did and I would feel UNJUST if I didn't show what happened to all of them. _

_Warning -A little profanity. An sorry, I couldn't help it with the chapter title ;-P_

**Chapter 31 –Back To The Future!**

"We don't have much time!" Odilia shouted over to Lina and Nexus as they were being transported from the Sea of Chaos to their intended destination. "We don't have enough magical powers to last too long in the future. We're going to have to figure out a plan quickly."

"So basically, were going to oversee and support Nexus-, I mean Kurokei as he takes over his past body to change the outcome of Filia's future, Am I correct." Lina shouted over to Odilia.

"That is correct Lina." Odilia nodded. "But it won't be as easy as it sounds. Even for me, maintaining my existence in the future realm will prove to be quite strenuous. Not only do we have to support ourselves, but we will also have to combine our powers to support Nexus as well. We will only exist in his conscious, to support and give council to him."

Lina shrugged her shoulders and shook her head smugly. "Sorry, but I'm not much for playing the supporting role."

"Are you saying you won't be helping?" Odilia shouted in curious anger.

"I never said that," Lina replied as she flew beside her, "I am just not going to phrase it as 'supporting'. I think controlling has a nicer ring to it." She grinned, as Odilia stared at her not so sure she understood what Lina was talking about.

Realizing that, Lina coughed, and cleared her throat. "Anyhow, do we even know what point of time LoN is sending us too?" Lina asked driving the conversation in a different direction.

"No we don't." Nexus replied, as he traveled beside the two women. "So we have to quickly assess the point of time we arrive in and create a quick plan of how we can fix the future. Hopefully we are relatively close to the point of Filly's death." He said.

"What if we aren't close?" Lina asked, "It could be a possibility."

"If it is during a time we do not need to interfere, we can standby before I am ready to change the actions of my past self. During the times I am not controlling myself, our magic intake will decrease."

"I see! So if you're not in control, it will by us more time. Hey that could come in handy!" Lina yelled confidently as the area around them began to change. Following a bright flash, Lina felt her body become weightless, as her astral body left her physical body behind.

She suddenly felt her energy begin to weaver, as her magic supported her body to co-exist in the future world once again. When she opened her eyes, she was not translucent as she was before, but just energy, floating on the astral plane as she over looked the physical realm.

"I thought we would be like when Nexus first took us to the future." Lina exclaimed as she looked around her.

"No." Nexus replied beside her. "When we arrived the first time, we were supported by L-sama's power. Since she is leaving this in our hands she will not be assisting us with her power. We only have enough power to exist in the astral plane, until I am sent in to my future self."

"Enough of this, we need to quickly figure out where we are." Odilia said as she looked down at the world below.

"Kurokei you have to tell us what is going on." Lina said to the book. "Since we are following you this time, we will not know ever thing that is going on, you have to keep us well informed."

"Right!" Nexus shouted as they looked down, and viewed his past self. After a few moments of watching he shouted, "I know when we are."

"Quickly, tell us!" Odilia shouted.

"It's the day before the attack at the Temple." Kurokei shouted, "This is too early for us to intervene!"

"Wait, what are you doing?" Lina shouted as she looked down at him from below.

"Oh, I'm talking to Sir Pingleton." Nexus said off-handed not really concerned.

"YOU WHAT?" Lina shouted as she looked down.

"I guess until the time is right we can only watch." Odilia said not removing the happenings of the world below out of her sight. "We have to save as much energy as possible until we are absolutely ready."

"I agree." Nexus added.

Lina realized that his is the best course of action as well. So she silently viewed what was in front of her, until it was time for them to respond with a course of action.

_Kurokei grinned over at an older looking man with a smug glance. No longer donning his traveling wear, Kurokei was now sporting the uniform of a young scholar. His spiked hair was pulled back in to a tight tail in the nape of his neck giving him a much more refined look._

_"Sir, my teacher would be so pleased that you're sponsoring his university. So many years ago had magic been replaced by weapons and machines. All humans have the ability to use magic, but over the years our magical bucket capacity has severly dwindled. I believe that Luci and Leo will make excellent students. Luci has already proven to have a rather high magical capacity." Kurokei bragged to the older looking man._

_"Of course. The children of the Seyruun Royal family come from such a strong magical line." Sir Pingleton bragged. "It would be an honor for them to be a part of the rebirth of magic in the world."_

_"Master Elias couldn't agree more." Kurokei gleamed._

_"I've heard a rumor that Elias, has also taught the Royalty of Zoana, is that true?" Pingleton asked the disguised monster._

_"You're correct. Young Prince Erik and Princess Thalia of Zoana each have studied under Elias. He was able to draw out the magic out of the prince by methods of magical amplifying paint." Kurokei explained. "This same skill caused the prince to encase a dangerous monster behind a stony seal, cutting off his ability to move from the astral plane."_

_"Amazing!" Sir Pingleton exclaimed as he thought of the possibilities. "To have the power to defend against the monsters and dragon races would give all of the human race hope." Pingleton glowed._

_"Yes indeed." Kurokei grinned back. "A power the humans would chase after."_

_Pingleton's grin fell slightly as he looked at Kurokei with a look of tension. "We're talking about protection, not a source of power, Mr. Kurokei." He lectured. _

_"Oh yes, of course." Kurokei laughed, "That's what I meant to say."_

_"Young people these days." Pingleton sighed as he shook his head, "Just don't understand how to speak." Pingleton ranted. "For instance, the children of the royal family. Even if they are above me in rank, they should have better manners when addressing me." _

_Kurokei didn't really understand where all that was coming from, but he nodded his head to show he was listening. "How so?"_

_"For instances, they refer to me as 'Sir Dukie'!" He shouted in anger. "And it was all because Maria, the youngest couldn't pronoun Duke when she was younger. I tell you, no respect." He sighed. "Then there is Luci. Trying to have a conversation with her is like asking a brick wall on a picnic. She has no social skills. And don't even get me started on Leonidas." He shouted as he threw his hands up in the air. _

_Apparently Pingleton had a lot to get off his chest. Kurokei smiled skeptically as his sweat dropped._

_"- enjoys annoying everyone around him. The only one who is remotely well behaved is Christen, but once her twin sister starts in, she can't help but to follow behind her. Once in a great while she will calm Maria down, but the two of them together is just a bad combination. Dorian will have his hands full when they age." Pingleton complained._

_"It sounds like you're not too fond of them." Kurokei pointed out._

_Pingleton's face looked back at him in shock, almost horror._

_"Of course I am. After they lost their father, those children were a mess. If it wasn't for me and my wife, they wouldn't have had anyone they are close with to take care of them. Even Dorian was a mess." Pingleton said sadly as he recalled the memory._

_Kurokei made a face that showed that he felt sympathy. 'This guy is a coot.' He laughed to himself, 'He is like a crazy mother-in law who only bad mouths her son/daughter-in law, then bites at anyone who has something negative to say about them.'_

_"No, young kids are just not taught to appreciate their elders any more. Like Miss Filia, she was absolutely polite and charming when I met her. Why can't kids be like that anymore? It's all about feeling above there superiors and always being in a hurry over what is going on with their lives. 'I don't care if we have an appearance at the grand opening of the newest restaurant in town, I have a picture to paint, or a game to play with my friends' or something of that nature." Pingleton grumbled._

_If Kurokei wasn't laughing in his mind, he wouldn't have almost missed what the Duke had just ranted about, and his eyes widened at the news he heard._

_"Filia?" He asked, even though he was overly confident he knew exactly who 'Dukie' was referring to._

_"Oh, she is a beautiful Dragoness who is now staying at the castle." Pingleton bragged, "She and her traveling companion have traveled to Seyruun to have a peaceful discussion with our King, Dorian." _

_"What would a Dragon need to speak to a King of Seyruun about?" Kurokei wondered to the Duke, even though he had a fairly good idea._

_"She wouldn't say. She would only speak to the king himself about the matter." Pingleton stated. "But enough of that, I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me young lad. " He said waving the subject on to a different topic. "You see, Master Elias was supposed to be at the palace yesterday to instruct Princess Luci, and Prince Leonidas, but he didn't show and you took his place. But you never fully explained why this happened. What could have kept your master from showing up where he promised to meet?"_

_'Oh, he was so enraged by losing a battle in the struggle to overthrow the monster race that he was not in the right temperament to deal with annoying humans. .' Crossed Kurokei's mind as a valid answer, but either because he didn't want to fully explain himself, or because he had more common sense not to, he just replied, "He was not feeling well. He is deeply sorry for the confusion, and hopes this would not interfere with the partnership he is interested in making with the King, and yourself." _

_Pingleton nodded his head, accepting his answer and replied, "Well see to it that he gets the best treatment he needs. If he wants, we can have one of the Royal doctors take a look at him."_

_"Oh that is too generous." Kurokei said as he faked his gratitude. "I will let him know of your offer. Perhaps now would be a good time to return to him? It is getting close to dinner time, after all." _

_"Yes, Yes. I must agree. I too have dinner plans to attend to." Sir Pingleton added, as he reached his hand out to the monster. Kurokei quickly grasped his hand in his as they shared a handshake. "Till we take again, you take care of yourself lad." He said to him._

_"Of course, you as well your Grace." Kurokei said, as they released there grips, and parted ways._

_After the Duke was far enough away, Kurokei phased away. When he reappeared, he was inside a tiny house, still inside the city of Seyruun._

_"Ah, wonderful timing as always Kurokei, Please have a seat." Elias offered as he took a seat next to the monster. The room was small, but it was well hidden in the city. Near the slums, it was kept off limits because the previous humans that lived there kept the house from staying clean, and a poisonous mold spread throughout it. After the house was evacuated, the building was cleaned out, but no one wanted to live there. It was the perfect place to hide if they didn't want to be bothered by local humans._

_Not much had changed while he was out. The human princess and the Monster were still chained up in the room, he could tell by the negative emotions coming from the human, and the pain from the monster. Yes, Dexi of course never learned to feed off of positive energy. She was still too young of a monster to learn that kind of skill. Plus Lord Zelas found her talents more proficient in other fields, such as research and human relations. After all, it wasn't too often you had a human turned monster at your disposal, and Zelas used her to the best of her abilities._

_But that seems to not have been the best thing for the overly energetic monster, as she sat chained up in the room next to them, too weak to even transport to the astral side. For a regular monster, the barrier of Seyruun truly was a wonder._

_"So then Kurokei, please tell us what you have learned?" Elias asked him from where he sat._

_"It appears that the King and Duke are still all for you're so called 'university', and fully support the use of the Princess and Prince of Seyruun." Kurokei informed the monster. _

_"Excellent." Elias praised as he listened. "They posses more magic potential then the wasted Princess of Zoana, and with my instruction, I believe they will be more useful than the forgetful Prince of Zoana. My plans are now in full motion. After I train up enough of these humans are remind them of the power they can wield, they will become the perfect tools in my conquest to destroy the Dragon race, and take over the monster race." He laughed to himself._

_"There is one other thing," Kurokei began, cutting Elias off. "Pingleton claims that dragons have traveled to speak to the king." He skillfully avoided using any names, since it was only a matter of time till he learned of this information himself._

_"Well that just won't do." Elias shook his head thinking over the new information. "I feel hesitation from the King to join forces with us, and I can't have pesky Dragons coming to ruin my plans. What I need is some kind of guarantee that the King will side with me no matter what." He thought out loud to himself._

_"Sir if I may?" Gieza asked from across the table._

_"What is it?" Elias shifted his gaze over to the Golden Dragon servant._

_"I was thinking perhaps, a push would cause the king to take your side without hesitation." He stated. "If I am not mistaken, this Duke is rather important to the children of Seyruun. If my some misfortune something were to happen to him, at the hands of a Monster, they would be blind by rage and agree to your plan who heartedly." _

_Elias pondered this over this information for a moment in silence. Gieza watched him hesitantly awaiting his answer._

_"So, like we staged an attack in Zoana to force the boy to use the magic, we stage a murder in order to gain the Kings trust." Elias thought. "That doesn't make us sound rather original, repeating the same tactics twice." He though out loud, as everyone remained still while he reached his verdict._

_"But then again, the death of a Duke would be a perfect distraction for us to search for the Dragons who are running around Seyruun." He weighed his options. "What do you think Rufus?" The monster asked the monster to the left of him._

_"I think we should take the course of action you see fit. Whatever you decide with bring the King closer to the right decision." The monster replied from his stone like shell._

_"Well then we have a lot of work to do." Elias spoke as he rose. "Pingleton will die, tonight. Gieza, you will take care of getting him." He directed at the Dragon. "In that time, Kurokei and I will separately search for the dragons. Rufus, you and Miriam will remain here and guard the prisoners. Make certain they do not escape." He commanded, as everyone gave a nod in agreement._

_"Then tomorrow, I will appear before the King and take advantage of his grief and rage." Elias laughed. "Oh humans, so easy to manipulate." He laughed harder. _

_"So first, we need to send someone out to kidnap the Duke, Kurokei; did he give any clues to where he would be going?" Elias asked after he calmed down._

_"He was on his way to Dinner with the King." Kurokei said._

_"Excellent, Gieza, please see to it that you apprehend him before that." Elias commanded, "And returns him here. We need to stage the battle perfectly. We will do it late at night, and force the guards to leave their post, leaving the castle wide open. During the time I kill him in front of the witnesses, Kurokei, you will search the palace for clues of the Dragons, if we don't find them before hand. Now Gieza go!" Elias shouted as the dragon phased from the room._

_"Kurokei, if you find anything, let me know immediately." Elias dismissed the monster._

_Kurokei quickly phased from the house to a remote location away from both the house and the palace where he was alone and unfollowed. Here he pondered about the new developments._

_Fuck._

_'There was no getting out of this. It would only be a matter of time before Elias discovers that Filia is the Dragon he is searching for. After that there will be nothing from stopping him from killing her.' Kurokei thought to himself. 'It shouldn't bother me this much. She is just a stupid dragon. She fell right in to my trap to lead her here, Elias would be proud if he knew that was the intent of dropping Dorian's name in front of her. . .'_

_Kurokei shook his head._

_'Don't lie to yourself, Elias would have killed you if he knew why you really asked her to come here. If you have any hope of returning to Zelas, she is the key. Elias is crazy and you know you no longer want to be a part of his crazy schemes. It won't be long before someone stops him and then where will you be? Easy pickings for anyone who was after Domink, that's where.'_

_There was only one thing to do, Find her, warn her, then hope to Ruby Eyes she will be forgiving of his plight, and of course on top of all that, keep Elias from finding her._

_Should be a piece of cake, right?_


	32. Who Is The Monster, Who Is The Man?

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Merry Late Christmas!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_**Authors Note- **__In case anyone wanted to go laugh at my terrible doodles, I have posted some sketches on my Deviantart account. Just search PttF, and they all pop up. My user name on DA is Inukijo07 (It's really really old :-P I have one under PsychoSongtress, but I just go on the other one out of habit. So if you want to see what some of my OC's look like feel free to check em out._

_**Author's note 2**__- This is the last chapter focusing on Kurokei I promise! I will be updating a lot this week. My goal is to have this story finished before January 1__st_

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_**Silvia - **__Thank you for all your reviews! I'm glad you're still enjoying the story! _

**Chapter 32 – Who Is The Monster, Who Is The Man?**

_There wasn't much time left to form a plan, Kurokei thought to himself as he wondered around Seyruun and 'looked' for a rouge Dragon. Once Elias found Filia it would be game over. She would have no chance of defeating Elias once he was prepared to attack her. What he needed was extra time. When Elias was completely occupied. _

_That only left him with one option. When Elias was busy with Pingleton, he would sneak off and find her, and MAKE her return home. He would save talking to her another day. It was a foolish idea to have her come to the city. Elias was so furious with the outcome during the battle at Wolfpack Island, he wouldn't hesitate to end her life._

_After searching for a few hours, Kurokei decided to return to the house to see if anyone had found out more information. He quickly phased back to the house, and what awaited him was a mess. The house looked like a huge battle had gone down. Kurokei took a walk through the house and found nothing._

_Nothing._

_Where was the human princess or Dexi? _

_Rushing thought the house he looked for a clue of what could have happened. Miriam and Rufus were also absent from the house, as Kurokei became curious to what had occurred. As he looked around the room, he missed someone phase in._

_While searching, a hand clamped on Kurokei's shoulder. The monster turned quickly to see the attacker and froze as he looked eyes with crazed brown ones. Elias stared at him with a hint of madness as he pointed at the chair in the room. Without hesitation, Kurokei quickly claimed it. _

_Elias took the seat down and must have know that Kurokei wanted answers, but he would not speak. It was as if the moment he would try, all the anger would flow out of him and swallow him whole. Kurokei just sat silently awaiting his confession._

"_The human and traitor left." Elias spoke softly in pure rage. _

"_The monster was in contact with Beastmaster this whole time. Somehow she found out the reason Dexi was weak, and told her to relocate. Rufus could do nothing to stop her., and the real kicker Is she couldn't even phase. She just strolled on out. Rufus was unable to prevent it." _

"_Where is he?" Kurokei asked._

"_I have no use for garbage." Elias said venomously, shutting Kurokei up._

"_And the dragons here in Seyruun are Daemon, and Filia Ul Copt." _

_As he said this, Kurokei felt like he was dropped in icy water without fair warning. Keeping his face and emotions in check, Elias didn't notice the change, as Kurokei mentally began to panic._

_He knows._

"_This is the plan." Elias began. "Gieza has already apprehended the Duke. We're going to continue with the previous plan, with a few modifications. We will publicly kill the Duke, but it is no longer a ploy to gain trust for the human experiments, it will be a declaration of war. Now that Dexi has presumably information Beastmaster of all that she knows about us, we have to move quickly." He began to talk more frenziedly._

"_After he is dead, we will kill the Gold and the Black Dragon. She will die tonight. It is the first thing on the list. We're going to punish them for the defeat of yesterday. After this is accomplished, we will destroy Seyruun to declare war against the kingdoms." Elias said, and grinned madly. "It will all begin tonight."_

_He had lost his mind. His plan was now ruined with the escape of Dexi and the girl. Their escape on top of the anger fueled by the defeat at Wolfpack Island had made him finally lose it. And that didn't help Kurokei one bit. Kurokei was no match for Elias, no, Domink's powers. Domink was a very old monster, and was craftier then any he has ever met, aside from the original five Mazoku Lords. Filia didn't stand a chance.._

"_What happened to Miriam?" Kurokei asked to prove he was interested in what he had to say._

"_She has gone AWOL. I believe she has left our side for good. She was always a hard one to control. I always thought that with the threat of her family would have been enough to cause her to join us, and then she would eventually become loyal like Gieza, but I was mistaken. I should always trust a woman to mess up my plans." He sneered._

"_Beastmaster, the human princess, Dexi, Filia and even Miriam. It is always the women who mess things up." He laughed uncontrollably as he moved his sandy blond hair out of his eyes. _

"_Kurokei, until I am ready to do in the Duke, I want you to search for Dexi. If you find her, kill her immediately. Also be on the look for Filia and now." Elias commanded, as Kurokei phased away._

"Ok, I have to ask, are you planning on taking control over your past body before they do in the old man?" Lina asked Nexus in an annoyed voice, sounding like she had an idea what the answer was.

"The object of this mission is to save Filia, is it not?" Nexus replied back rather harshly.

"Yes, but-" Lina began before she was cut off.

"And to be sided tracked from that mission over one death would not be an equal trade, not by a long shot." Nexus continued.

In rage, Lina began to shout at him. "Ok, first of all, DON'T EVER INTERUPT ME." She bellowed. "Monster or not, I will take you out, and second, I can't believe I'm saying this, but it would be 'unjust' to leave things the way they are meant to be. You haven't even given a defiant time when you want to take over your past body. You said yourself the longer we remain here, the less energy we will have." She pointed out.

"I believe the best point of time to take over would be when Filia is in the Temple of Cepheid." Nexus replied, unworried by her threats.

"But that wouldn't give us very much time at all!" Lina shouted. "I would feel more confident if I were the one going."

"Miss Lina." Odilia casted her dark voice over, "I agree with Nexus. We need to arrive right before Elias deals the final blow. If he does that it will be over. If we start sooner than that we have no clue what the outcome would be. Elias has obviously gone crazed by the defeat of the previous battle, and is out for Mom. He has to die, and when he is distracted with killing her would be our best bet to destroy him."

"Well then answer me this." Lina said sounding slightly angry "Even if you intervene, your still not strong enough to take Elias down, are you?"

There was a brief silence before he replied plainly, "No."

"So then tell me, if you die, where will that leave us? If you try to attack him head on, and he kills you, we're shit out of luck. Remember it's not just Filia's life at stake here." She informed him.

"Of course." Nexus replied bitterly, as if he knew what Lina was thinking about.

"If I am to sacrifice my strongest attack for this chance, we have to make sure it is damn perfect." She stated.

"I am glad you concerned Miss Lina, but you have to realize I know how grave the situation is. It is my top priority to change what is to befall on to Filia. That means I don't have time to worrying about a dying Duke. For all we know, if she were to wander to the temple, and meet say a guard along the way that is still at his post due to the lack of the Dukes death and gets distracted, everything changes and we lose our most important weapon, which is knowing what will happen next." Nexus said. "Besides Lina, you don't even know what really happens to Pingleton. Perhaps we should watch for a little longer?"

Lina had nothing to say so she quietly gazed back in a huff. If he had a plan that was all fine and dandy, but if it failed, Filia wasn't the only one that was going to suffer a dark end.

_Kurokei knew that if Zelas was in contact with Dexi, she would have informed her that Daemon was at the palace, and since the girl couldn't phase due to the strain from the Seyruun curse, he was the closest she could travel to in order to get taken back to Wolfpack island. But the princess would stay behind. So if he wanted answers, she was who he needed to find first._

_Kurokei quickly traveled to the palace and quickly search for any of the party at the castle. He slipped unnoticed onto the astral plane as he scanned the castle and quickly found them in a small study. Dexi was already absent and no doubt returned to her master. Daemon and Thalia were both there, along with Filia._

_She sat there in a pristine lilac dress, and her hair done up elegantly, beautifully unaware that there was a mad man out there after her life. There she was, blissfully ignorant of the fact that her life could end at any moment the longer she remained in the city. _

_Kurokei shook his head and began to focus at the task at hand as he removed his spectacles and transformed his body to reflect the guard at the palace door before phasing in to the physical plane. He made quick work of the guard; throwing him through the astral plane to somewhere in the Dils kingdom and unnoticeably took his place, as he listened in to their conversation._

"_When Dexi told Lord Zelas where you were, she informed Xelloss to tell your family where you were." The black dragon said down to the red haired princess._

_So he was correct in assuming that Dexi has returned to Lord Zelas. And Xelloss was on the move again. If he wanted to think of a plan, he needed to act fast. But Daemon would be rather hard to fool. He needs to think of a way to distract him so he would be free to speak to Filia later that evening, but how?_

_As Kurokei struggled with his inner thoughts, the blue haired king turned to him and beckoned him to him._

"_Please escort Princess Thalia to her sleeping chamber." The king asked of him. Disguised as a guard, he gave a bow, and walked over to the princess and began to lead the princess out of the room, not missing his chance.._

_Unaware of where he was going, he lead Thalia around the castle as if he knew where he was going, until he stumped across an empty room and lead her inside._

"_Thank you sir." The girl said slightly hesitantly as she stared at him curiously. "So now that we are here what do you want from me?" She asked expectantly._

_Ah, Kurokei thought, He forgot that she had a heightened awareness to beings other than her own._

"_I am surprised that if you figured me out, and that you didn't call me out in the room along with the two dragons." Kurokei smiled down at the girl, as he crossed his arms and lean against his guard spear._

"_I knew someone would be after me when Dexi and I had escaped." Thalia glared up at him. "I knew better then to drop my guard."_

"_Ah, but now what are you going to do? You walked away from your only possible protection for miles and miles around. Not very smart was it?" Kurokei said to her._

_Thalia appeared to not have thought that, as Kurokei grinned when he felt her panic._

"_So what are you going to do now? Kidnap me?" Thalia asked as she crossed her arms stubbornly._

"_Well I haven't really decided what my best course of action would be as of yet." Kurokei said to her. "Tell me, how did you escape?"_

_Thalia scoffed and turned her head from him. "I'm not going to tell a crummy old monster anything." _

_Kurokei transformed from his guard disguise back in to his normal form and reached around hand grabbed her chin, and turned her face to look at him. Her clear green eyes stared at him transfixed with fear, knowing exactly who he was. The fear felt good as it washed over Kurokei, as he narrowed his eyes at her and grinned mischievously at her._

"_Now Now princess, you should listen to me, unless you want something unfortunate to happen, and believe me, it will." He said as he held her chin gently. _

_Thalia gulped then said, "Dexi was speaking to a woman the whole time we were in that house." Thalia replied. "Just before we left, Dexi found out why she was so weak and she was told to leave the house. The monster Rufus couldn't do anything to stop us since his powers were sealed. Dexi was strong enough to get past him, then-" She paused then said no more._

"_Ah, Ah, ah." Kurokei wagged his finger in her face. "No withholding anything. What happened to the dragon girl? I know she was still there before you escaped."_

"_She-" Thalia began as her eyes began to shake under his unblinking gaze, "She was prepared to attack, then Dexi told her that if she went to Wolfpack Island, Lord Beastmaster or someone would grant her and her family protection. She did that after she and Dexi argued for a few moments. After we reached this palace, Dexi returned home." She finished._

"_And she didn't give you any instructions? No warnings" Kurokei asked her._

"_She said that I should look out for monsters in case they came after me. But she said that Daemon would be able to protect me if any came after me." She whispered._

_Kurokei looked down at her smugly. "Now if you knew that why did you walk away from him?" He asked her confused._

"_Because,-" She paused as she thought of how to put her feelings. "I didn't want any more monsters or anyone to get hurt because of me." She said._

"_Well princess, unfortunately you're in the middle of something rather big. Tonight, a Duke of Seyruun will be murdered. The monster who was keeping you held hostage is going to rage war with the city of Seyruun. Since you and Dexi left, he has gone completely of f his rocker, and now the city will pay." He grinned down at her._

_Then, more quiet then a whisper, Kurokei heard the tiniest gasp. Without dropping Thalia's chin, he turned to look in the room he entered. Then, there in the corner, he saw four sets of eyes watching him in fear hiding behind a large couch._

_The four younger siblings of Dorian sat staring at them with wide fearful eyes. How was it that he didn't notice them before?_

"_Come here." He commanded of them. Hesitantly they each came and stood in front of him. The oldest girl and boy he knew, having met the previously while he and Elias were scouting for those with potential magical capabilities. They both looked at him with betrayed eyes, now knowing the truth._

"_Is it true?" One of the smaller girls with pigtails braved to ask. "Is Mister Duke going to die?" she whimpered._

_Kurokei didn't have time for this. Now he had to worry about the Princess of Zoana, and the Prince and Princesses of Seyruun. _

_The lavender haired princess looked at him with daggers in her eyes as he looked over the children. He felt hatred and fear coming from her in strong waves._

"_When you came to Seyruun, you talked of magic and learning. Your true goals were much more then that were they not?" Luci asked him in a low dark voice._

"_It was all a trick to use our power." Leo shouted at him._

"_Wait, you mean you were tricking them as well?" Thalia asked in anger._

"_You mean he tricked you as well?" Luci asked Thalia looking past Kurokei._

"_That is right, he came to Zoana and pursued me and my brother's power claiming to help us find a way to protect humans from monsters, but we were only experiences for his master, in hopes to use us later in their pursuit of world conquest." Thalia shouted over Kurokei._

"_Why you vile, piece of -"Luci began to scream._

"_Enough!" Kurokei demanded shutting them each up. He released Thalia's chin and pushed each of them to sit on the couch while he tried to figure out a plan. He needed a distraction so that he could approach Filia._

_A distraction, he thought as he looked down at the five children. The town would be in an uproar if the royal family up and went missing wouldn't they?_

_Grinning he smiled at them all. "I know exactly what I am going to do." He grinned as he scanned the kids then pointed his finger at the youngest one with the short ultra violet hair._

"_You are going to stay behind." As he quickly grabbed the children and phased out of the palace._

_When he reappeared, he was inside the main hall of the Zoana palace. It was now deserted since the royal family was currently traveling to Seyruun. Grinning he dropped the kids down on the ground._

"_What the . . ." Leo shouted as he looked around the unfamiliar room._

"_Where are we?" Shouted Luci._

"_Where is Christen?" The Maria began to cry, due to being separated from her twin._

"_This is my palace, were in Zoana!" Thalia told them as she turned to Kurokei. "Why did you bring us here?" She asked him suspiciously._

"_Well I needed a distraction, and what would be more distraction then missing royalty." He grinned as he began to float and saluted them a goodbye, and quickly phased back to the castle._

_When he returned to Seyruun, it hadn't taken Christen long at all to inform the guards that her siblings and the Princess of Zoana were kidnapped by a monster. All the guards along with the Prince were already frantically searching for her. _

_Kurokei began to panic. It wouldn't take Elias long at all to find out what he had done so he needed to find a way to Filia as quick as possible._

"_Kurokei, what is going on?" A voice called out. Kurokei turned to stare at a tall, wavy golden haired dragon. Gieza's yellow green eyes looked at him curiously as he held on to the Duke._

"_I was coming to drop off the Duke to Elias but everyone seems to be in an uproar." He said suspiciously. "Do you have any idea what it is about?"_

_Kurokei only took a second to decide what to do. Knowing what it meant if he was caught, Knowing what Elias would do if he found out. In the second it took him to charge up enough Miasma in his hand, and poison the Gold dragon he thought of only one thing._

_Filia, you better not be hard to find._


	33. This Time I'll Protect You!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. Happy New Years!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

_**A/N- **__Chapter 1 for Fugitive is up if anyone wants to check it out :-P , and this time for real is the last chapter focusing on Kurokei, the next chapter is back to Filia, and will be the last chapter before the two part epilogue!_

_ALSO, so this story really transformed from what I originally intended, and I wondered if I should really classify it as Filia/Xelloss and Romance . . . What do you think? I would really like a second opinion. I was thinking of just changing it to Filia, and leaving it as Adventure/Action only. _

**Chapter 33 – This Time I'll Protect You!**

_After Kurokei quickly stashed the knocked out Gieza and Sir Pingleton in separate rooms of the palace, he began to search for Filia. Knowing he didn't have much time to find her, he began to phase in and out of each of the rooms to find her, but this proved to be an ineffective plan when he phased in to the room of someone he would have liked to avoid._

"_You." A low growl greeted him as he invaded the room of a very grouchy black dragon._

"_Why hello Daemon! Wrong room I see. I'm sorry this isn't really a good time to get in to it with an old comrade, I hope you understand!" Kurokei saluted to the Dragon as he prepared to phase away. _

_Quicker then he could foresee, the Dragon quickly pinned him to the wall, cutting off his escape._

"_Kurokei, What are you planning in Seyruun?" Daemon demanded as he gripped Kurokei tightly on the shoulders._

"_You know, you don't have to be so forceful." Kurokei commented lightly to the angered Dragon who snorted angrily in response. _

"_Oh come now, no need to be all in a huff. Do you really think it would be wise to try and keep me here?" Kurokei chuckled softly, but kept his gaze on the Dragon challenging. Even though he was in a hurry, I wouldn't hold himself back if the Dragon attacked._

"_You betrayed my master." Daemon said as he bared his teeth at him. "What makes you think I'm just going to let you go?"_

"_Ah, I see now." Kurokei shrugged in his grip. "Your loyalty to her is ever unwavering." _

"_More then I can say about you." Daemon accused him. _

_Kurokei knew this was getting him nowhere, and if he didn't hurry, Elias was going to realize that Gieza had disappeared along with the Duke. It wasn't that he ever had anything against the Dragon, but he needed to find Filia as soon as possible._

"_Alright." Kurokei surrendered as he placed his hands up in the air. "If I tell you everything, will you release me? I have something I need to be getting to and I don't have very much time." _

"_What makes you think I would believe a single word you say?" Daemon growled at him as his green eyes glared down at him with a distrustful gaze._

"_Well let me tell you and then you can decide." Kurokei pointed out, determined to make his point._

_After a few moments of hesitation, and against his better judgment, Daemon forcefully released his hold on him and backed up to show he would listen._

"_Forgive me for being brief, but I really don't have the time to give you the extended version."Kurokei said as he readjusted his robes. Even in the extreme circumstances he couldn't help but to keep a little humor in his voice as he took a brief story and condensed it._

"_Elias basically went berserk when Dexi and the Princess escaped, and now plans to destroy the city of Seyruun, right after he kills you and Filia. He was going to murder this Duke guy to cause panic in the city then swoop in and kill the two of you then begin to destroy the city. So instead I alone took a safer route and 'kidnapped' the Prince and Princesses of Seyruun, along with the Princess of Zoana, and took them to the Palace of Zoana for safe keeping." He said in one breath, with hand motions._

"_Now everyone is franticly looking for them and don't have much time till Elias finds out I'm responsible. I know your pride will be against it, but I'm going to need your help" He said as he gazed at him hauntingly behind his glasses._

"_And what would that be?" Daemon asked him as he looked down at him._

"_Send a message to your master and have Dexi retrieve the kids, and then get your 'lover' sent here for back up." Then he paused before he said the next bit, feeling sick that he was even going to say it. "It wouldn't hurt to have Xelloss called in as well. Elias is serious about killing Filia and she won't be enough to take on Elias. While you figure all that out, I'm going to find her before Elias does." Kurokei explained._

_Daemon stared at him for a moment as he put all he heard together. Then when he finally formed his decision he told Kurokei exactly what he thought. "You are not trust worthy. You change sides faster than you can predict." He began._

"_Meh." Kurokei shrugged and threw his hands in the air unaffected by his statement._

_Daemon thought it over for a few seconds then asked him "Why would you go through all this trouble to help her?"_

_Kurokei paused and thought about an answer for the question, but when he couldn't find one he just replied, "Why indeed." _

_Daemon didn't feel like playing his games as he thought over what to do. Kurokei began to tap his foot awaiting the black Dragon's answer to either fight against him or help. Then Daemon groaned in defeat and walked out the door. Kurokei followed behind him as he walked over to another room. _

_Daemon began to knock on the door, but there was no replied. After repeatedly knocking with no reply he busted the door down and they both walked in._

"_She's gone." Daemon whispered as he looked around the deserted room._

_Kurokei's eyes widened as he looked around the room as well. He could smell that without a doubt this was HER room, and for no reason in the middle of the night, with no sign of struggle, she was absent from her domain._

"_Very well." Daemon agreed as he turned to look at the monster who once betrayed him. "I will do as you said, but once you find her, you have to inform me at once." He said to him._

"_You can count on it; you just worry about getting back up." Kurokei nodded to the Dragon who gave one agreeing nod before he phased out of the room._

_Kurokei sighed then smiled at where the Dragon was once standing. He really did like that guy, even if he was a Dragon. He was always easy to reason with._

_Then he quickly walked out of the deserted room in to the deserted hallway. He didn't have much time. He had to find her before Elias did._

"_I must be out of my mind." He groaned as he trailed down the hallway._

"Alright that's enough." Lina shouted as she watched Kurokei as he began to hunt around for Filia.

"We know exactly where she is right now. She is in the temple. This would be the most opportune time to go." She shouted.

"It won't be much longer now Miss Lina." Odilia said to the impatient sorceress.

"Yeah I know!" Lina huffed, "I'm just ready to go into action. I'm not a stand around and wait kind of girl. Oh, and Nexus-," She directed her next comment to the enchanted book.

"What is it?" He replied indifferently, unaffected by her threatening tone.

"Why didn't you just tell me you saved the Duke?" She asked half calm, half annoyed.

"Didn't I?" Nexus asked innocently.

Lina screamed in frustration.

_After searching the entire castle and still couldn't find her, he concluded that she wasn't in the palace. This didn't help Kurokei one bit. He began to exit the palace noticing nobody was in sight. All the guards were in the kingdom searching for the missing kids, while leaving the Palace unguarded. It wasn't a very thought out strategy, Kurokei thought as he continued to wander around the grounds. The world felt as if it stood still, with no sound or movement._

_Then, as he began to walk down the steps of the castle he felt a flicker of emotion. _

_It was sorrow._

_He turned his attention to where the emotion escaped from as his eyes fell over at a large building near the palace where a large sculpture of a white dragon stood as a guardian to a temple. Kurokei walked toward the giant stone Dragon and examined it. If he was correct, it was the Dragon Lord Cepheid, which would make this the temple of the Dragons. He looked up at the temple that was covered in shadow by the dark, and without a moment of hesitation he intruded into the Temple._

_As he searched the temple, the feeling of sorrow changed from sadness to pride, and then back again to sorrow, and as he searched it became more and more prominent. Then when he began to silently walk up the marble staircase toward the alter, he finally heard her voice. _

_In a soft spoken tone, her voiced weaved from pleasant to apologetic in a beautiful rhythm of prayer. Kurokei almost held his breath as he listened to her speaking to her god, amazed by the very sound of her. _

_Then when he finally reached the top of the flight of stairs, his cobalt eyes began to seek her out, and when they finally found her they froze at the sight of her. She was in a pure white gown, the fell around her as she kneeled down at the altar, with a soft glow of the dim light shinning down on her from the stain glass windows. Her golden hair twisted in a well managed braid, as it hung off her shoulder, and her face bright, as a few tears betrayed her as the fell slowly down her cheek._

_Forgetting about the rush he was in, he quietly leaned against a pillar and listened to her speak to the statue, admiring her from afar. _

_As the moments drowned by, he stood captivated by her speech to her god. In her weakened state, where she wasn't putting up a tough act but showed her true self, he found beauty in her that he had never seen before. A side that she would have never shared with him in all the years they had knows each other._

_Filia stood from her spot on the alter and placed her small hand on to the stone statue, as she wrapped up her speech to the god. When she had finished, she turned around, her stunning blue eyes locked on to his and widened in fear._

_In a voice more deep then he intended, he called out to her as he removed himself from his relaxed state._

"_Hello Filly."_

"This is insane!" Zelgadis shouted as he watched along with the rest who have been left behind. "Why are they waiting so long to intervene?"

"Mister Zelgadis, I'm sure Miss Lina and the others are waiting for a good reason." Amelia said as she patted his shoulder. "We must have faith in them."

"Your right Amelia, Lina will defiantly fix this." Gourry said without a doubt. "Once she agrees to do something, somehow she always manages to pull it off."

"Speaking as a being that has lived for a very long time-" Xelloss said as kept his eyes on the enchanted images reflecting in the shallows before him, "She is the only human I've ever met who has ever been able to accomplish the impossible. And more times than once, she has even held my hopes in her hands."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Filia asked cynically as she looked at the monster from the side.

"Well,-" Xelloss grinned, as he tightened his grasp on her hand in a squeeze, "For the moment, I guess it depends on how you look at it. As a member of the monster race I must reply it's a bad thing."

Filia, unable to control herself, began to blush at the bold move and looked back down at the water with a quiet, "oh."

"But if you were to look at it from a different point of view?" Amelia asked happily as her body did a pleased wiggle.

"That is a secret!" Xelloss smiled down at the excited princess who gave an approving sigh.

"Right! So then we must support Miss Lina from here, and believe in her!" Amelia declared.

"Yeah!" Gourry agreed.

"If anyone can do it she can." Zelgadis shrugged.

"Let's pretend to be a little sensitive to the fact that we're talking about my future life." Filia complained as she looked on to the scene before them.

"Oh Filia, lighten up, after all you know secretly your enjoying this." Xelloss chuckled.

Filia looked at him suspiciously, thinking to herself 'What exactly do you think I'm enjoying?' as he smiled back at her with closed eyes, and a firm grip on her hand.

"Look, Elias has arrived." Amelia shouted distracting her train of thought, as they both turned from each other to witness what was going to happen next.

_Kurokei stared in fear as Elias stared back at him and Filia. Quickly, he pushed aside all his feelings, and looked up to the mad man with controlled eyes. Had he discovered what he had did with Gieza? Had he listened to what he told Filia?_

"_Ah, Kurokei, good job, it seems you have found her." Elias smirked as he looked over Filia without a hint of betrayal._

'_What can I do now?' Kurokei asked himself as he looked over his master in stilled panic. If I defy him, I'll die, If I just set back and do nothing, she will die. How could he possibly find a solution to solve his problems in the short time it would take for Elias to murder Filia?_

_Then he remembered what the Dragon had said to him previously, 'Once you find her, inform me at once"_

_Quickly, while he had the chance, he sent his voice out for only the black Dragon to hear, hoping it would be enough to save the Golden Dragon's life._

'_She is in the Temple of Cepheid, and so is Domink. We're going to need all the help we can get'_

'_We will be on our way in just a moment; we still have to contact Xellos'_

_Kurokei looked on to Filia and Elias silently, neither knowing what had just transpired. If help didn't arrive, he wasn't sure if he would be able to act to save her. . . . _

Lina listened closely to everything that was said between the three for the second time that day. She knew that they were very close to their goal now. Any extra details would help.

After a few moments, it was Odilia who spoke up first.

"We should move now." Odilia spoke up. "So we can take action as soon as Filia fires the first shot."

"I agree." Nexus replied.

"Alright!" Lina shouted in excitement. "Let's get this started."

Gold light sprung from Nexus and covered Lina and Odilia's spirits, which caused both of them to regain her human bodies. Not wasting any time, Odilia hastily walked over to Lina and linked their hands.

"Are you prepared? This will be rather difficult, and-"

"Odilia," Lina interrupted the hybrid in the middle of her tiresome speech, "Shut up, and let's do this."

Odilia stared at Lina for a moment in surprise, and then replied to her smirk with one of her own.

"Right."

Combining their energy, they covered Nexus in a magical barrier, and then with a strained effort, sent him forth through the astral plane on to his destination. Lina gritted her teeth as the pressure of her spirit energy was tested, as she supported herself and with the aid of Odilia to support Nexus as well. It was an uncomfortable pain and she felt like her strength would give out any minute. 'All we have to do is hold out till Elias is destroyed. Once that is done, we can return home' she told herself as she stabilized her magic, 'So you can hold out till then."

Odilia also looked like she was having a tough time as her blonde hair whipped around her face, which began to drip in sweat, but she refused to let her magic drop.

Nexus felt his body shot from the astral plane, and enter inside his original body. It only took a second for the magic of himself, Lina and Odilia to take over the body, where his past self just fell catatonic, he opened familiar eyes and looked on to the scene before him, in amazement. It had worked, and now he had the chance to finally make his decision. He had complete control of his body. He listened in to Elias as he pieced together exactly how long he had to intervene.

_Elias had grabbed Filia's chin and raised it to look at him in the eye. "I want blood." He said in a soft voice, "Yes, that would be just right. The memory will last forever. Blood stained on your white dress. Running down your pale arms and long, smooth legs. Blood running down the steps of your gods altar, spilling on the temple of your people. But not the face-" He said as he cupped her face._

_Nexus clutched his fist, as Elias continued on with his speech. When he had finished, Elias bent down and gently brushed his lips on Filia's forehead, filling the room with her feelings of disgust._

"_Now Filia." Elias said as he leaned back from her to examine her, "its tim-"_

_Nexus knew it was coming before she even shouted "Freeze Ray!" which took Elias by surprise as she ran in a panic. Nexus quickly grabbed Filia's shoes before grabbing the panicked Dragon and teleported them out of the temple in to her room._

"_Filia put these on." He commanded not giving her time catch her bearings. "We don't have any time; you have to listen to me. We are going to fight. Together we can take him on."_

_Filia not thinking quickly pulled her boots on and looked up at Kurokei with wide frightened eyes._

"_What are you taking about Kurokei, are you saying you're going to defy him?" She asked with wide eyes in terror._

"_Filia!" He growled at her, "Snap out of it. You're so much stronger than this. Haven't you been training with Beastmaster for years? What would she say if you have become so frightened that you can't fight?" Nexus shouted at her._

"_W-what?" She quivered in shock, fear, and confusion._

_Nexus grabbed her mace from beside her nightstand and handed it to her._

"_You said you wanted to protect Seyruun didn't you?" Nexus asked her in a serious voice. "Well then, we can do it together, but I need you to let go of your fear. You can do this."_

_Filia's eyes widened as she stared at him in shock. He was right. She wasn't going to run from this fight, she was going to take Elias on, and protect everyone she loved. She nodded her head then quickly grasped Nexus hand. _

_Nexus looked down at her, with her new found determination. Her dress glowing because it was so white, as her bright blue eyes looked at him with trust and strength. Even her newly chopped hair seemed to bring out the beauty in her that he always refused to see. Knowing that these would be the last few moments he shared with her before they faced off Elias, he wanted to remember this forever. After all the years of regretting not doing anything, he was going to finally make everything right._

_He nodded his head at her ash he quickly transported them back to the temple where they were going to face Elias together. This time, he wasn't going to just stand by and let her fall to the crazed man._


	34. Sacrifices and Fates!

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. If I did, I would be a man. O.0

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

_This means a future character is talking or whatever.___

_**A/N – **_ Alrighty! After this chapter, there is going to be a two part epilogue then this story will be COMPLETE! I really look forward to it and hopefully after this fic, I start to grow more as a writer. I still have a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, but hopefully my story was entertaining enough! Enjoy the conclusion of PttF!

**Chapter 34–Sacrifices and Fates!**

Lina struggled as her magic was draining at an alarming rate. Her body felt like it was lit on fire by her own magic, as she concentrated all her existence in to maintaining the spell to keep Nexus in his original host body. Alongside her, Odilia was also giving all she had in the hopes of the success of their mission.

Well, she couldn't let the woman to out shine her now could she? Lina grinned weakly as she continued to stabilize her powers. After all, in the end, it was her that was going to be the key factor in saving everyone. She was after all . . . the hero.

_Elias attacked the temple of the Dragons in an outrage. Again the Gold Dragon had slipped from his clutches. All his servents have left him and now even Kurokei had betrayed him. The thought of it became too much to bear as he lost his mind. _

_As he continued to destroy the temple, Filia and Kurokei appeared, causing Elias to halt on his assault._

_Elias stopped to look at the two who had returned to the scene where they had just previously fled from, becoming irritated as he looked on to their determined faces as they looked on to him._

"_Elias," Filia said as she faced the monster while holding back her fear. "You have spent your whole life bringing only destruction and death to the people of the world, not only the humans but dragons as well. Over six centuries ago, you began to War of Severance, by hunting the humans and dragons, and causing conflict between all."_

_Elias began to laugh as Filia informed him of his sins. "I know what I have done silly girl. Now tell me what you plan to do about it?" He challenged._

"_If it is either me, or someone else," Filia said as she clutched her mace tightly in her hands as she drew it up in defense, "Your crimes will not go unpunished."_

_This caused Elias to laugh insanely as he prepared to charge her. "Well then, by all means," He mocked her, "Punish me."_

"_Remember Filia, don't show mercy!" Kurokei shouted as he leapt after Elias with full force._

_Filia narrowed her eyes as she watched Kurokei and Elias trade attacks, as bright holy magic began to wrap around her mace. She was prepared to battle in order to protect Seyruun, and Odilia._

_Swiftly, Filia charged after Kurokei and Elias with her mace ready to attack, as she swung it at her enemy. Elias laughed as he easily evaded her attack, while blocking Kurokei's. Filia swiftly regain her footing as she charged another attack at him._

_The dark sky above was beginning to lighten as murky dim rays of light began to fall down on to the trio as their battle began. Kurokei continued to go at Elias with all he had, but it was proving to not be enough to cause any real damage._

"Nexus, you have to finish him quickly, we won't be able to hold out much longer." Odilia informed the monster as she continued to struggle to force her magic to stabilize.

_Elias faced the two head on, watching their every move and predicting where they would strike next. He kept himself one step ahead of them both, quickly gaining the upper hand in the fight. He carefully avoided Filia's holy magic, while keeping Kurokei's attack from causing any real damage._

_Filia began to realize that all her wailing around was only proving to make her become more exhausted. None of her strikes were making contact with her target, and if she kept up with the way she was fighting now, she was going to burn out quickly. She needed to strike him with everything she had, and her holy magic was the only weapon she could use against him. He already knew how to repel positive energy, so her magic was her only advantage._

"_You two don't seem to be doing a very good job." Elias laughed as he continued to avoid Kurokei's attacks. While he was distracted, Filia sent a 'Vrabazard Flare' at him, which he easily dodged._

_As the Battle continued, Filia became more and more agitated as she realized not only were none of her attacks landing on their intended target, but she was quickly becoming more exhausted. She was doing all the work for him as she increasingly became worn out. Challenging him seemed like a good plan at the time, but now she began to doubt herself._

_Even the 'Chaotic Disintergrate' was no match for him, Filia thought to herself in panic, he proved that in their previous match on Wolf Pack Island, and with Kurokei so close she would have to be extra attentive on the holy spells she sent at him._

"_Is that really all you got? Why did I ever allow you to work for me?" Elias taunted Kurokei as he continued to charge after the stronger monster._

_Filia gripped her mace tightly, as she too charged at him with all her might. Elias almost got caught by her mace, which was amplified with holy magic, but was able to move out of the way at the last minute, but as Filia's swing began to lose momentum, he took advantage of her defenselessness and quickly slammed his elbow in her back, causing her to slam hard on to the floor._

"_Filia!" Kurokei shouted in concern at the fallen Dragon. Quickly he turned his glare at Elias and charged at him, as he began to ready an attack, but Elias was a step ahead of him as he quickly sent a powerful spell at him, causing him to be thrown back._

_Elias laughed as he looked down at the two fallen warriors in madness and glee. "Oh yes! Please give me all you can! That is what will make the kill so much sweeter!"_

_Filia grimaced as she tried to pull herself off the floor to face him again, but was having difficulty as her dress was caught under a piece of marble that had been busted previously. After a hard yank, she tore the fabric while releasing its hold on her, which caused her to fall over on to her back, scratching her arm as she broke her fall on the broken marble._

_She turned her head to find Elias and keep her defenses up. Visibility was becoming clearer as the light from outside was beginning to become brighter, as the sun prepared to rise over the horizon. The lights glowed off of her white dress, catching Elias's eye._

"_There isn't nearly enough blood!" Elias shouted in rage as he started to advance on her, not giving her the chance to prepare for the attack. Her eyes widened as he began to quickly advance on her, as she looked to locate her dropped mace._

_Kurokei saw it all in slow motion. As soon as Elias began to charge after her, he raised from where he had fallen and rushed toward her. He wasn't going to let him harm her. Even if he gave up his life, he was going to protect her._

_But Elias proved to be much quicker then Kurokei, as he reached her before he even got close, and drew out the dagger he cut her hair with and thrusted it down toward her._

_Kurokei froze in mid step as he ran toward her in fear as Elias rose from where he was previously crouched. There was no scream, but Kurokei could feel her panic and fear, and shock. Had he pierced her right through the heart and caused her to go in to shock so she couldn't even muster a scream?_

_Elias clutched his fist as he turned from where he stood with anger pouring out of his entire being. Facing Kurokei while looking delusional, he shouted, "Where did you take her!"_

_Kurokei stared at him confused for a second, not understanding what he had meant, as he glanced behind him to look at her to see how much damage had been done, but the only thing he saw was the dagger logged into a large fragment of marble, with no Dragon in sight._

"_W-?" He mouthed confused as he looked around for the missing Dragon. He could still feel her emotions so she couldn't have gone far. Kurokei looked around for her, knowing that he was quickly running out of time._

_Then beside him, a black figure phased back in to the room, holding Filia defensively. He had piercing violet eyes, as the stared down Elias with malice, as he placed her down on the ground. Filia backed away from him, as feelings of relief began to fill the room._

_Kurokei looked over Xellos as he stood beside Filia, prepared to enter the fight, as she stood close to him, also ready for battle. Despite himself, as bitter grin spread across his face as he denied his pride and let out a low chuckle._

'_Of course, I almost forgot who her hero was for a moment' He laughed to himself as he walked over to stand next to the couple._

_Daemon, Salvia, Val, and a weakened Dexi appeared inside the temple as they all began to surround Elias. He was now outnumbered, Kurokei noticed, as the look of anger remained etched on Elias' face as he grasped how his chances had changed._

"_My, My Filia." Xelloss grinned at her, ignoring everyone in the room. "You seemed to have been fairly busy the past couple of day's"_

_That was the biggest understatement Kurokei had ever heard._

_Kurokei knew that he had to finish it now, before he left. He only had so much time life, and he could feel Odilia and Lina's life forces draining at an alarming rate. Now that they were all present, one final attack should do the trick. Then everything he wanted to accomplish would be complete. After all the years of regretting what he had not done to protect her, he was finally going to write the sins of his past in his one last action._

_Turning to Xelloss, he held back his pride as he addressed directly to the monster who he had always hated. He knew that Xelloss could handle Elias all by alone if he chooses to, but that wasn't what he felt would be best for Filia. After all, she is the one who has been fighting Elias ever since he declared war on her people so many years ago. It just felt like it wouldn't be right if she didn't have some part in his demise. _

"_We all need to combine our powers if we want to destroy him." Kurokei whispered over to Xelloss. _

"_Oh, so you really are going against him? Not going to turn around and change your mind?" Xelloss asked in a bitter but cheery voice. Even in time's of danger, Xelloss couldn't manage to open his mouth without pissing him off._

"_I know exactly what I am doing." Kurokei replied back in his own false cheerfulness. "With the combination of the dragons and the Mazoku in the room we can take him. While you all distract him, I will keep him from escaping from the astral plan." He said as he whispered his plan in a hurry._

_Xelloss turned an side glance on to Kurokei, as if he didn't believe what he said. "If you do that there is no guarantee you survive."_

"_Oh, I guarantee I won't." Kurokei said to him. "The only thing you need to worry about is taking care of her." _

_Xelloss glanced briefly from Kurokei to look at Filia. She had her bright blue eyes locked on to Elias, while she was prepared to attack. She had her mace in hand as she began to admit holy energy around it, ready to strike, unaware of their conversation. A small smile crept across the trickster priest face as he admired her._

"_You know I really hate you." Kurokei said, drawling his focus back to the monster. _

_A smug smirk spread across Xelloss face as he began to understand everything, and chuckled lightly. "Good, because I really don't care for you much either." _

_Kurokei nodded his head and looked past him to take a last glance at her, hoping to never forget the look of determination and new found strength. Of course he knew he never stood a chance, after all, he knew that this was his sacrifice, for her. No fairy tale ending, nothing noble about dying. Just the satisfaction that she would have a future, because he fought for it._

_Without wasting time on a heartfelt goodbye, Kurokei phased from the room, to the astral plane, where he prepared to attack Elias directly._

_Xelloss turned his glare at Elias with all humor gone. "Domink, did you really think you would get away with the crimes you have committed against the monster race? It will be a great pleasure to tell my master of your death." He bragged to the monster._

"_I wouldn't give the satisfaction to an annoying Dragbanger like you who has the gall to call himself a monster."_

_That seemed to strike a chord with Xelloss, but Filia stood next to him and shouted over to Elias. "You only find him annoying because you could never match his strength. Jealous isn't becoming of you. If you want to envy something, envy the life that you will no longer be having." She said causing Elias to begin to fume with rage that she even dared to speak to him._

"_Everyone, one attack should do." Xelloss shouted to everyone in an upbeat tenor voice then turned down to Filia and grinned, and touched her face gently. _

"_You never stop to amaze me." _

_Filia's stared at him feeling both confusion and happiness. "What are you talking about?"_

_Xelloss looked her over with his violet eyes, feeling like it had been twenty years since he had last saw her, not a handful of days._

"_You will never understand how you affect those around you." He whispered as he dropped his hand from her, and grabbed her hand. "What am I going to do with you?" He chuckled as he squeezed her hand. "Fusion magic should do the trick, don't you think?"_

_Filia's look of confusion disappeared as she nodded her head in confidence, as they both turned from to face Elias, as they both began to charge up an attack of Holy and Demon magic._

_Daemon and Salvia caught on quickly to what they were doing and began to do the same, with Daemon preparing a powerful black magic spell, to combine with Salvia's miasma. While Val helped support Dexi who was weakened by the Seyruun barrier, as the two prepared a fusion attack._

_Elias knew that he wouldn't survive from the three sets of attacks, and knew it was time to retreat. Before they sent their attacks at him, he sent part of his astral body back to the astral plane to insure his survival._

_Kurokei was waiting for it however, as he prepared to put his all in to one final attack._

_The three couples released their attacks in unison, hitting Elias directly, while Kurokei release his most powerful attack onto his astral body. _

Lina began to scream, as she tried to control the magic that was being drained from her body while she tried to continue to support Nexus. As Kurokei released his spell, her magic began to increasingly drain, and Odilia looked like she wasn't going to hold out much longer either.

Odilia struggled to look up at her, and when she finally caught her eye, she smiled weakly at her. "This isn't enough power; Nexus will be destroyed before we can finish Elias off."

Lina continued to pour sweat as she forced her magic to obey her. "I-if you think I'm going to give up, you have another thing coming . . ." Lina shouted in agony. Odilia's violet eyes looked over her while she strained, as an honest smile spread across her face, full of gratitude, and happiness.

Lina felt Odilia's hands loosen from hers, as they began to pull away from her.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Lina started to shout, as Odilia floated away from her.

"Alone, Nexus isn't strong enough, so I am going to give him all my strength." Odilia smiled sadly at Lina. "Thank you for all you have done for my parents." She said.

"W-what are you talking about?" Lina shouted before her eyes widened as she realized and understood everything. "You're going to sacrifice your life!"

"It was what Nexus and I traded, so it is really is my decision." Odilia smiled as she floated in front of Lina. "I do not regret my fate; it is the path I have chosen. You have another place you should be." Odilia said as she touched Lina's face gently. "You're an amazing person Lina Inverse. Good thing mother cares so much about you." She whispered as her body phased out of the subspace they were sharing.

"Odilia!" Lina shouted. Then after the absentness of Odilia's power, she became unable to support herself, as she began to lose her consciences. The last thing she remembered was seeing gold and then a never-ending void of black.

_Kurokei, felt the extra boost of power as Odilia filled him with her power, causing him to grin. They had both known that this was going to be the outcome, so neither was upset or surprised. After all, if their deaths would guarantee Filia's fate to be altered, so be it, he smiled, as he pushed the combined magic of his own Demonic energy and Odilia's chaos magic on to Elias._

_It didn't take long for their combined powers to slowly destroy Elias, as well as their body. Kurokei's astral body wasn't strong enough to withhold such powers, as it slowly began to disintegrate. Along with Odilia's astral body. They both held on until the very end, till they proved to be triumphant. As both of them left, taking Elias with them._

_Farwell Filia._

"What happened to Lina?" Gourry shouted as the pool before them went still, no longer showing the future.

"What's happening?" Amelia shouted looking from the water to Zelgadis.

Filia's fearful eyes looked up to Xelloss, hoping for an answer, but he just looked back at her reflecting the same confused expression.

Then in a flash, gold light burst from the water, filling the room with bright lights. Streams of gold energy swirled around the room, as it began to engulf the room. Zelgadis quickly grabbed Amelia's hand as he pulled her close to him, as they were both sucked in to the golden energy.

"Miss Amelia! Zelgadis!" Filia shouted as everything around them began to disappear in to the light, making her unable to hold on to her balance, as she too became swept in to the void.

A light purple gloved hand came at her, as she quickly grabbed on to it, before she too had been swallowed by the light.

Gourry felt like he was swimming through the mist of energy, as he searched for his companions. Everyone was gone, and he couldn't find his way out while the golden energy began to surround him.

Then in front of him, lights began to twinkle, that seemed out of place from all the gold mist, and he knew immediately what it was.

"Liiiina!" He shouted as he made his way to the lights that slowly transformed in to the form of a young girl.

Gourry quickly grabbed her, and held her close, as they too, were emerged in the golden lights, then it all vanished.


	35. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Slayers. This is the END!

Note from Author: This is my first fanfic ever, be gentle! Also I'm going to apologize in advance, my spelling and grammar is not the best, be warned!

**A/n- Well this is it! The end. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope that if you read it, you enjoyed it as well. This was originally going to be a two part epilogue, but I ended up being able to get everything in to one chapter. If you have any questions or see something I forgot to conclude, please tell me. Or if you just want to tell me what you thought of the story that would be gladly appreciated as well. Thank you so much if you made it all this way!**

**Silvia - Thank** you so much for you last review, and all your other reviews! I hope that you enjoy the conclusion.

_This means a future character is talking or whatever._

There is some references to other stories I will be writing in here, and also, I think someday I will return to the future cast, since I don't want to say goodbye to Odilia just yet, but I can never be sure until I write it. Until then, Please enjoy Fugitive. My next Xellia fanfic.

**Epilogue – Eternity**

"_Today we will be running things a little out of order." Beastmaster Zelas stated as she looked around the council room which was now playing guest to her underlings and those of Deep Sea Dolphin and Dynast Grausherra. _

"_First let's talk about the events that had occurred in Seyruun three days ago." She said to the silent room, as her piercing amber eyes looked out at the monsters._

"_Under the investigation of my underlings, we found that the barrier that kept us out of Seyruun was a seal that produced high positive frequencies throughout the Kingdom, which was the cause of most monsters being unable to enter the city. Now that we know that, my more trained subordinates will have no problem entering the city." _

"_Now on to Domink. We had learned that he was in the process of gathering humans with heightened magical capabilities and training them to use magical amplifying items to project their magic, which he had planned to use when he restarted the next war. Rufus, who was under Dynast, was killed by him, so a cure for his condition remains undetermined, and the sorcerer who cursed him has been dealt with." She informed them._

"_Domink himself has also been dealt with. We learned that his objective was also to apprehend Odilia, who is in my care. Whether that was for personal gain,-" She paused as she flicked her eyes over Dynast, who seemed to miss the gesture, "Or by the orders of another, still remains undetermined. Xellos and those under me took care of Domink and he is no more. Now on to other things,-" She continued to speak out to the members in the room._

"_When she says's it like that, it doesn't seem like we did much." Dexi whispered to Val sounding disappointed._

"_Well if you think about it, it was really only difficult for you." He said with a frown. She looked at him in disbelieve then glared at him. _

"_That's not fair." She whispered in a dead serious voice. "I am not used to feeding off positive emotions like the Xelloss and Salvia. It was hard just standing there, let alone letting off a powerful attack like that." She pouted._

"_Well that just shows you that you should spend less time gossiping with humans and work on feeding off their positive feelings." He teased her._

"_Yeah sure." She crossed her arms and scooted to the far edge of her squishy pillow away from him. _

"_You're such a child." Val shook his head as his short cut teal hair swayed back and forth then reached out his arm and pulled her closer to him._

_Dexi thought about pulling herself out of his grip, but when she thought about how nice he smelled, and how warm his arm felt around her, she decided she would just let him win . . . just this once._

"_Were you worried?" She asked as she traced her finger tips around his forearm. At first he just grunted, and didn't respond. She knew that if she let him be, he would just answer her on his own, and after a few moments, her theory proved right._

"_Lord Zelas didn't exactly tell me you were missing. She told me that dad needed some backup and sent me out to help him with the royal family of Zoana, while he recovered from the attack at the palace. It was dad that told me what had happened." He paused as he thought about what he was going to say next._

"_Dad said that if you died, Lord Zelas would have informed him about it. So we just had to wait and see what happened basically." _

_Dexi continued to swirl her fingers in a circular motion on his finger as she listened to him talk. Her emerald eyes unblinking as they stayed focused on the pattern her finger moved in._

"_The Zoana royal family was also worried about the princess, and I told them that if you were with her, they wouldn't have anything to worry about." He finished then remained silent._

_Dexi smiled as she placed her hands on his arm in a resting place and snuggled closer to him. He might not have came straight out and said it, but 'was worried too' seemed to seal the answer to her question. Instead of arguing with him to get a rise in his emotions, she just enjoyed the moment._

_Since she wasn't strong with dealing with positive emotions, Val had always tried his best to keep emotions in check when he was around her, and in a way it hurt her that he had to do that to himself. But that was the only way they could be together. He used to be a more open and loving kind of guy, at least before his first love died, so it wasn't hard for him to be guarded around her. So in moments like this she would just take what she could. _

_At least for now. One day she would learn to feed off positive emotions, she grinned._

"_Looks like they are all lovely." Daemon grunted as he looked over at the couple._

"_There is a time and a place for everything. Young kids don't seem to grasp that." Salvia said, looking bored as usual._

"_You have to admit though, now that Domink has been found and defeated, things around here are going to be a lot more lax." Daemon whispered down to the monster. "So they probably just feel comfortable to do so, even if it is in front of monsters that might not be as accepting of their situation."_

"_Situation." Salvia repeated as she pondered on the word, thinking it didn't do the word justice. "More like a transgression of sinful fortification."_

_Daemon's cool green eyes lit up as he looked down at her with a wicked grin. If it wasn't for the fact that they were in a room full people, he would have took her right there. Instead he held back his urges as he looked down at the bobbed haired Mazoku._

"_As if you have room to talk. That would make you the original sinner." He grinned._

_Salvia turned her head to look up at the Dragon, as her stone colored eyes locked on to his. "A mistake I've seem to repeat for over three millennia." _

_Her comeback didn't cause his grin to fall, as he continued to grin down at her. If he knew her, and he did, rather well in fact, she would be making the same mistake later that evening. . . ._

_Xelloss sat quietly as he listened to his master speak to everyone in the room. When she had finished with what she had to say, and made room on the floor for Deep Sea Dolphin to speak, she gave him a nod, dismissing him. He bowed in gratitude then phased out of the council room._

_He reappeared inside his bed chamber where the curtain was drawn. Stepping over to the window, he released the sash and let the bright light inside the room. Then he walked over to the bed where his dragoness was sleeping peacefully. _

_He sat down on the side of the bed as he traced the outline of her check gently, hoping for her to awaken._

_She stirred, but didn't wake._

_Sighing, Xelloss rested his elbows on his knees, and then placed his chin on top of his fist, while his leg began to impatiently begin to shake._

_Now that Domink was destroyed, Lord Zelas hadn't had any missions for him in the last couple of days, which had given him time to spend with Val and Odilia. Which was nice, but he was beginning to think that Filia wasn't going to wake up ever again._

_After they had combined their powers to take down Elias, she became really weak. Either due to the stress of all that had happened, or just because was upset about Kurokei's death, she had blacked out, and hasn't woken since._

_As he continued to fidget as he looked over at her nightstand and saw the photograph the king of Seyruun gave to him before he returned to Wolfpack Island. Apparently he had given it to Filia, the night before the battle._

_He grinned as he looked down at all his old friends. Amelia was in the middle, smiling with a radiance that even through the picture, he felt like he could feel, and beside her was Zelgadis, who didn't look as moody as he remembered him, Xelloss chuckled to himself._

_Then there was Amelia's older sister, who if he remembered correctly was very intoxicated at the wedding, and was half hugging half choking Prince Phil, of Seyruun._

_Xelloss almost let out a snort of laughter, remembering the highly dysfunctional but entertaining royal family of Seyruun._

_Of course there were others in the picture as well. The King and Queen of Zoana, the Prince of Taforashia and his young friend, Luna Inverse and then there was of course, Lina._

_Lina looked just as he had always remembered her. The aged photo didn't do justice to her wild red hair that reminded him of fire. In the picture she looked rather triumphant as she grinned, while standing next Gourry. _

_Gourry was looking at Lina in the picture, which Xelloss found a fitting representation of him in the photo. Then there was himself and Filia._

_By the looks of the photo, you can see plain as day that they were both annoyed with each other. If he remembered correctly they were previously arguing over the significance of flowers in the wedding. His point of view, which he still believed to be the right one, was that the representation of flowers in the wedding was a bad omen, as he saw flowers a representative of dying beauty._

_Filia had argued that it was a long standing tradition to have flowers in a wedding and his views were invalid due to the lack of Monster weddings._

_Xelloss giggled as he remembered the wedding. It was a fun event. With Lina and her sister, and then the whole cake incident. He couldn't remember Lina ever crying so hard, he laughed._

_But even with all the misfortunes, they still all were smiling brightly in the photo, Aside from Filia and himself. It all seemed like such a far away dream, when Lina was alive, and even still to this day, he would admit that he missed the crazy human._

_He felt the bed move as he turned to see Filia beginning to sit up. Swiftly he placed the photo back down on the bed stand as he moved to her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders._

"_Hey." He said to her, grabbing her sleepy attention. Filia's wide bright eyes were slightly puffy as she looked up to him, rubbing her left eye._

"_H-hey." She said still half asleep. Her loose light peach nightgown straps were hanging down on her arms, no longer on her shoulders, as it stretched snugly across her frame, and for the moment, she didn't notice. She held her hands out, grabbing Xelloss face gently, and pulled him close to her, and softly kissed his lips._

_Her lips were warm, as she held him there for a moment, not wanting to let go, as they shared an innocent kiss._

_When they broke apart, she opened her eyes, feeling more awake, as she looked over him with a smile. "Good morning."_

_Xelloss smiled at her as he pulled her in to his arms, and kissed her bare shoulder quietly. Even if she had been home for three days, he had still missed her. Now they were finally together again. _

_Filia sat contently as he continued to kiss her bare skin. Keeping her brain free from thoughts of the events that had occurred before she had slept. Xelloss was here with her now and that was all that mattered to her._

_Xelloss placed his hand on the back of her neck, and when he finished kissing her shoulder, he pulled her in to a more intimate kiss. As he kissed her, his hand became entwined in her hair, which caused him to pull apart from her with a sad face._

_Filia looked at him confused not understanding why he had stopped._

"_What is the matter?" She asked him concerned as she lifted her hand to his face, and lightly pulled his face to look at her._

_He sighed as he looked her over then hung his head. "I'm sorry about your vases." He said in a voice that sounded like it was searching for forgiveness._

"_My vases?" Filia asked confused._

_Xelloss nodded his head as he raised his hand up to her face then brushed her cheek as it became entangled into her short golden hair._

"_I told you if cut your hair I would have to destroy them." He said sadly as he looked in to her bright blue eyes. _

_She stared at him in disbelief, but seemed to not want to fight over it, as she reached over and kissed him, more upset that he broke the kiss to tease her. Right now, only they mattered in her world, and no empty threats on to her vases were going to distract her from him._

_Later, when Filia was more awake and they were both less distracted, they finally were ready to talk. Xelloss rested his head on his hand as he laid in the bed staring at her, ready to answer her questions._

"_What happened after Elias died?" Filia asked him as she readjusted her nightgown sleeve for the hundredth time._

"_Well basically, Dexi retrieved the kids from the palace of Zoana, and they were able to reunite with their families." He explained._

_Filia smiled and nodded her head. "Good. I'm glad that Thalia was finally able to see her parents again."_

_Xelloss looked over her face as she thought about the princess of Zoana. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed, he noticed as he smiled back at her. "Yes, she was very happy. After Val returned them back to their castle, we all regrouped here, and told Lord Beastmaster what had happened. She was very pleased with you, by the way." He grinned at her. "Anyways, we searched for Gieza, but we couldn't find him, and everything else returned to normal in Seyruun. The temple of Cepheid will have to be rebuilt, but Dorian said that he was just happy that you weren't hurt and fixing the temple was no trouble at all. Lord Beastmaster had me speak to Erik, and I learned that he had no memory of how to create the magic enhancing paint, so she decided to let him live, since he was no longer a threat to the monsters, and since Rufus is dead, we don't need to worry about another accident of that nature. The dragon Miriam was returned to her family as well."_

_Filia nodded her head as she moved closer to him, and wrapped her arms around his free arm, and pulled it close to her._

"_So then," She said as she held on to him, "Is it all over?"_

_Xelloss nodded as he allowed her to hold on to her arm. _

"_And Kurokei?" She asked in a quiet hushed voice. He looked at her with his violet eyes, and shook his head, which cause her head to drop._

"_He wanted to return you know." She whispered as she continued to look down. "He regretted betraying Lord Zelas."_

_Xelloss sighed as he looked past her and out the window admiring the view from the outside. Even if he never really liked the monster, he had been there to protect her when he was not, and in the end, he helped them defeat Elias. Even if Xelloss could have taken him alone, he suggested that Filia would need to help due to closure. He knew more about Filia then he would have ever given him credit for._

"_He would have never been allowed to return here, just so you know." He told her, not hiding the truth from her. "Lord Beastmaster wouldn't have stood for it, she would have killed him, because once a monster destroys that frail amount of trust you can offer another, they are dead in their eyes. Dying for you is the only way to make up for any act of betrayal. Lord Zelas see's that he was regretful now. This was probably the best route for him to go." He whispered to her. As she listened her eyes slowly filled with tears. It was clear that she didn't agree with the way the monsters looked at things, but whatever her view were, he was going to have to wait on hearing as they were interrupted by a loud shout from outside the door._

"_What have I told you don't just barge in to their roo-" _

_The door burst open as Odilia emerged inside seeking her parents with her bright violet eyes, and when she found them she rushed to them, with a hesitant Val trailing behind her._

"_MOM!" She shouted as she leapt up on to the bed and gave Filia a hug. "You won't believe what Haleron did!" She shouted as she begin to rat out the dragon to her parents. Filia looked up from her to glace at Xelloss as he smiled down at the hyper girl who was in the middle of telling her story. He looked up at Filia and smiled as he reached over and placed his hand on top of her hand. _

_They would always have time to each other later. For now, they would just take things one day at a time, and enjoy what they had. _

Lina's eyes snapped open as she looked around her settings in confusion. When did she fall asleep? Sitting up, she realized that she was still in the library of the Fire dragon temple. She rubbed her forehead confused by it and noticed her headband was missing.

"HEY, where is my head band?" She shouted as the rest of the group was waking up. Amelia looked as confused as Lina felt, as she rubbed her eyes. "What happened?"

Zelgadis looked around the mess of the library trying to assess what had happened. "The last thing I remember was Filia knocking down these bookshelves."

"Are you saying this is my fault?" Filia shouted in anger as she began to stand from where she woke.

"Well it would make more sense that way wouldn't it?" Xelloss grinned up at her, as her temper flared.

"Oh really? And why is that Xelloss?" She spat at him gripping her mace tightly.

Lina ignored them as they continued to bicker, as she pulled herself up from the ground and looked around for her head band.

"I found it Lina!" Gourry shouted as he tripped over the spilled books as came up to her. It was tied neatly around his wrist.

"What are you doing with that Gourry?" Lina asked curiously as she untied the headband and placed it back where it belonged.

"I have no idea, I can't remember a thing." He said feeling dumbfounded.

"Well normally that is what I would expect from you Jelly brains." Lina sighed and patted his back. "But I'm on the same boat as you right now."

Amelia looked over the mess and decided that they couldn't just leave it the way it was. So after a lot of negotiating, she convinced everyone to help her clean up the mess. When they finally finished putting all the books back, they were prepared to leave the room.

"What is that?" Amelia asked as she pointed to a dark green book that was sitting on the floor that she swore wasn't there before. She walked over to the book and picked it up. The language on the cover was unrecognizable to her as she opened the book.

"M-Mister Zelgadis!" She shouted as she stared down at the book in shock.

"What is it Amelia?" He shouted as he quickly rushed to her side. Shaking, she removed a loose piece of paper that was stuck in the book. Everyone gathered around them to read what the message said.

Mister Zelgadis,

As a reward to you, for helping me in my plight, I give you this book.

Inside is the complete research that was ever gathered that deals with

creating and dissembling Chimeras.

I'm sure that you will find it very useful.

Thank you all for your help, even if you don't remember,

I will always remember what you did to help me and my mother.

Consider this compensation for misleading you Zelgadis.

Oldie.

Under every letter of the alphabet was a strange symbol. After looking over the book Zelgadis began to grin. "It's a key to decode the book."

Amelia looked at Zelgadis with tears in her eyes. "This is wonderful Mister Zelgadis!"

Filia looked at them curiously as she looked over at Lina. "I guess this means something really did happen."

Lina nodded her head and then smiled over at her friend. Well at least Zel found something she guessed. Not that she didn't get anything from ransacking the temple she giggled evilly.

"Well if we are done here, I should report back. Unlike you lucky Humans, Monsters have tedious work to get to." Xelloss grinned as he prepared to leave.

"Typical of a monster." Filia huffed.

"Aw, are you going to miss me Filia-chan?" Xellos laughed.

"As IF!" Filia shouted as she threw her hands up in the air, which caused her mace to fall out her hand and knock in to a bookcase.

Which fell and knocked in to another.

Filia watched in horror as all the books they had previously rearranged began to fall for the second time.

"Oh. My. Heavens." Xelloss laughed as he looked down at Filia with glee.

"Go to hell!" Filia shouted in anger and embarrassment.

_Odilia laughed out loud as she smiled down at everything. "It seems everything is going to be ok."_

"_Everything will soon return to normal." Kurokei agreed. "But what I would like to know is when you placed that book there?" He asked the hybrid._

"_She left it with the Beastmaster." LoN replied. "It was a favor if I'm not mistaken."_

"_That's right mother." Odilia replied. "Since Xelloss was speaking to her, I slipped away and visited her, and told her everything. Then I gave her the book and asked her to give it to him after they forgot."_

"_That was rather sneaky of you." Kurokei grinned. "So how will Lina fair with forgetting her most powerful attack?" He asked LoN._

"_Considering she doesn't even remember casting the 'Giga Warp' I don't think it will change much."_

"_W-wait, I thought that her most powerful attack was the 'Giga Slave'?" Kurokei said in confusion._

"_Well then you thought wrong." LoN replied to him in a condescending tone._

"_Well not that everything is done, what happened to Nexus?" Odilia asked._

"_He has been removed from both timelines; after all, in your own words my dear, 'To remove a circle, you must first connect the ends'." LoN replied._

"_So what will be in store for them next?" Kurokei asked curiously as he looked on._

"_Who knows for certain? You can never believe in a predetermined fate." LoN stated as she turned from watching the void. "It's theirs to figure out now."_

_Odilia nodded as she turned to look at her future self laughing happily with her parents, as a smile spread across her face. At least for now, everything was as it should be, and if she had her way, it was going to stay that way, she grinned._

_"With every ending, there comes a new beginning."_


End file.
